The Call That Changed Everything
by HoshiHikari
Summary: Chapter 9 up! The night Stella failed to return Mac’s call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever. Spoilers from Season 6!
1. The Phone Call

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 1 The Phone Call**

"Taylor," Mac answered his Blackberry as he stood in the middle of his office. Both the solid walls and glass windows which surrounded his office were covered with photos of possible suspects or other information that was related to the case at hand.

"Sorry for calling so late, Mac." Danny's voice came from the other end.

"That's alright, I'm at the office." Mac replied.

"I got a possible tip from an anonymous caller about the case. She asked to meet up."

"Where are you?" Mac asked.

Danny gave him the address.

"Alright, I'll pick you up. Would you mind if I call Stella? Besides she'll probably scold me later if I don't."

Danny couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah I don't mind. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble with your old lady."

"Danny!"

"Seriously Mac, when are you going to tie the knot? Everybody knows it's inevitable. So why not get it over with already?"

"Danny!"

"You never know what's going happen. Look at Flack and Jessica…" Danny's voice softened. "Besides a women is only going to wait so long. You've known her for at least a decade, 8 of which Claire wasn't even in the picture…" His voice trailed off as he if he suddenly realized what he had said. He took a deep breath and continued anyway. "She would have wanted you to be happy."

"Danny." Mac said with a tone of annoyance.

"Just let her know. Chasing after her to Greece was something…"

"Back to the case Danny." Mac said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Right, I'll see you in half an hour?" Danny asked.

"Yes. I'll call Stella now and we'll be there soon." Mac confirmed. After hanging up, he picked up his jacket and headed out of the office. Once he got to his car he dialed Stella's number. He frowned when he was immediately greeted by voicemail.

"Hey Stell, Danny got a tip. I know you're off today but I thought you'll like to know since this is the first sign of progress in this case. Anyhow I'll give you the details after I pick you up. Give me a call soon."

He then proceeded to call her home number but frowned again when he was answered by the answering machine. Again he left a message. Figuring that he should pick Danny up first as he had no idea where Stella was, he gave the man a call.

"Messer." Danny answered on the first ring.

"I'm going to pick you up first. Stella didn't answer her cell or home phone." Mac said. "She'll probably call back by the time I reach your place."

"Alright then, I'll see you soon."

Fifteen minutes later Mac arrived at the Messer residence. Danny, Lindsey and Lucy were waiting outside for him.

"Hey Mac." Lindsey greeted.

"Hi Lindsey, Lucy." Mac greeted in kind. "Didn't have to come out."

"Suppose not." Lindsey agreed. "Just couldn't resist."

"Resist what?"

"Oh, I don't know Mac. Hmm." Lindsey pretended to think hard. "Overhead you talking on the phone with Danny. Something about tying a knot? So when's the big day?"

"Lindsey!" Mac's face flushed red. "I said nothing like that. I..er…"

"I'll just ask Stella." Lindsey interrupted, peaking over Mac's shoulder, expecting to see the women sitting in the passenger seat of his car. She frowned when she didn't see Stella.

"Where's Stella?"

"She hasn't called back yet." Mac said quietly, suddenly quite serious. "I know she's off duty and not on call, but…"

"She knows you wouldn't call her, unless it was important. At least at this hour at any rate." Lindsey finished off his sentence. "Could she be asleep?"

"Who's gotten any sleep since Angell…" Mac countered.

A heavy silence fell over the gathered.

"Lighten up Mac." Danny said, rolling his wheelchair towards Mac's car. "You're the insomniac. Everyone else needs sleep to survive. We could head over to Stella's where you can play the prince charming who wakes up Sleeping Beauty and then we can held over to the meeting spot."

"Very funny."

"Come on, you know you want to do that."

This time Mac didn't reply. He merely smirked in response.

"I'll call Stella and let her know you're coming." Lindsey offered as Mac helped Danny into the front seat. He then folded up the wheelchair and placed it in the back.

"Thanks Lindsey." Mac acknowledged and then climbed into the driver seat. He made sure Lindsey and Lucy were both inside before driving off. The two rode in silence as they headed to Stella's apartment.

"Call her again Danny." Mac said as he parked in front of Stella's.

"Voicemail." Danny murmured. He raised an eyebrow when he watched Mac pull out his gun. "Mac?"

"I got a bad feeling about this Danny." Mac responded. "Stella has never failed to return my calls, let alone so many calls. Even when we had arguments…."

"Help me into that damn chair Mac, I'm coming with you."

"No, you're staying here."

"But…"

"Stella's got a no man rule." Mac responded as he pulled out a key. "After Frankie…"

"Yet you have a key to her apartment?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"There's always an exception to every rule." Mac replied as he got out of the car. Danny could have sworn he saw Mac smile before his face was once again replaced by a look of utmost seriousness. "Be back in ten minutes. If I'm not back by then, call for back up."

"I am backup." Danny argued as Mac shut the door behind him. He flung his hands up in frustration. He really hated being disabled. He felt so useless especially now when all he could do was watch Mac walk into possible danger. He fingered his phone and gun as he waited anxiously for Mac to return. He was surprised when Mac returned within minutes, his face filled with anger, frustration and fear. Mac was talking on the phone, his lips moving rapidly as he tried to convey his message to the other person on the line.

"I'm heading back to the lab." Mac said. "Flack said there was another shooting at a bar. Another officer was gunned down."

"and Stella?" Danny asked hesitantly.

"Missing. There were no signs of struggle. In fact there was nothing unusual about the apartment." Mac replied as he picked up his cell again to call Stella. He cursed heavily when he was once again directed to voicemail. He left a quick messaged and then turned his attention onto Danny.

"Tell Adam to meet me at the lab. I need him to help me run a trance on Stella's phone. Tell Sheldon and Lindsey to head over to the new crime scene. Flack's going to meet you at the place where this anonymous tipster is going to show up. We're working around the clock till this case is solved."

"Gotcha." Danny replied. He immediately began dialing numbers as Mac drove to the destination where he was suppose to drop off Danny.

"Adam's cell went directly to voicemail." Danny said anxiously. "The other's are heading towards their respective destinations."

"Leave a message. If he's not there by the time I reach the lab, I'm running a trace on both of their cell phones."

"You don't think something happened to him too, do you?"

"I don't know Danny. First with Angell, then with the shootings and with Stella missing." Mac said as he pulled to a stop in front of Don.

"What's this with Stella missing?" Don asked through the rolled down window. "You didn't say anything about that Mac."

"I'll find her Don. I'll find her before dawn breaks." Mac swears trying to convince himself. "I can't lose her."

Mac and Don helped Danny into his wheelchair as Danny explained the situation to Flack. After exchanging a few more words, Mac sat back in the driver seat and headed towards the lab. By the time he had gotten to his office, Adam still hadn't shown up. Dread and fear began to grip him as numerous scenarios formed in his mind. He forced himself to concentrate as he imputed Stella's cell onto one computer and Adam's cell onto another, typed in a few more items and then waited for the computers to turn on both phones. After that was done, he imputed the numbers again and let the computers find the location of the cells.

"They're together." Mac spoke up in wonderment as he stared at the computer screens with a surprised expression on his face. "But why is Stella at Adam's place? And if they're safe, then why didn't anyone answer their phone?"

Of course no one answered his questions. He didn't like the idea of them together, especially because there wasn't any reason to, at least not at this hour.

"But maybe they couldn't answer the phone. The phone's off because someone else is there. Someone who is probably holding them as hostages. Yes, that would make sense. Neither Stella or Adam are people who would turn off their phones at night. There's probably someone else threatening them. They're probably the same people behind these shootouts."

Making sure he had an extra pack of ammunition, Mac quickly closed the computers and headed to his car. He drove quickly, making reckless turns here and there as he rushed towards Adam's place. His heart was pounding quickly as he double parked in front of Adam's place. Pulling out his gun, he made his way swiftly and silently to the door. He frowned when he didn't hear any noise coming from inside. Deciding that his best approach was to remain silent if there really was a hostage situation going on, he decided to turn from cop mode to marine mode. Shoving his hands through his pockets, he found a paper clip, bent it out of shape and then easily picked the lock. As quietly as possible, he pushed the front door open and immediately became on guard.

The living room was a mess. There were beer bottles scattered on the ground and paper that littered everywhere. A quick glance around showed that no one was in the room. Slowly he made his way through the kitchen and bathroom but still found no one. When he passed one of the home phones, he noticed it wasn't placed back correctly and so he could still faintly hear the operator's voice on the other end of the line. Slowly he made his way towards the bedroom where the door was left slightly ajar. From his spot, Mac could make out a human shape on the bed. The shape sat bolt upright and even though Mac wasn't sure, he thought he could see a gun in the person's outstretched hand. Taking a deep breath, Mac gripped his own gun tighter and then barged into the dark room.

Immediately he felt something cold and metallic touched the side of his neck.

"This is your unlucky day. You've got some guts trying to break into a cop's home."

"Adam?" Mac asked with surprise.

"Boss?" Adam's voice came from his side. The weapon was lowered and the lights were immediately switched on.

"Mac?" A second voice of astonishment and confusion spoke up.

Mac's attention was immediately drawn onto Stella by her question. She was on the bed, her hand now lowered and her gun lay on her lap. The blanket was pulled up to her shoulders. Her hair was messy and Mac could trace the sweat ticking down her face. A glance at the far wall showed him a pile of clothes that were hastily thrown aside. A side glance at Adam confirmed his suspicions when he noticed the younger man was only wearing a pair of jeans.

"Mac?" Stella said his name again but he completely ignored it. For a fleeting second, Stella saw the anger, betrayal, and pain reflected in Mac's eyes and then it was gone. It was all gone. All emotion was drained from Mac's face and Stella suddenly found herself unable to read her partner.

"It's not what it looks like." Adam was rambling. "Boss, I can…" He cut off when Mac suddenly spun around and fled the room. Adam stole a quick glace at Stella, quickly picked up a shirt from the pile of clothes on the ground and then quickly chased after Mac. By the time Adam caught up with him, Mac was opening the door to his car with one hand while dialing Danny's number on his Blackberry with his other hand.

"Hey Danny," Mac spoke once the line went through.

"Mac, just the man I was about to call."

"Don?" Mac asked, quickly checking the number to make sure it was Danny he had dialed. "Where's Danny?"

"He's alright. He just fell over. I just helped him back onto his chair."

"Fell over?"

"Someone shot our tipster during our conversation. She's dead. Danny fell over, but he's alright."

"and you?"

"Fine."

"Wait for me." Mac said. "I'll be right there."

"Did you found Stella?" Flack asked.

"Yeah, I found her." Mac grounded out, just as Stella approached him. She barely caught the door as he was about to slam it shut. "She's safe."

"Good. So where was she? Did you have to kick some ass to rescue…"

Mac didn't hear the rest of Flack's sentence. He pulled the phone away as he turned his attention back to Stella.

"Let go Bonasera." Mac shouted in a tone of voice that was louder and harsher then he had ever spoken to his partner before.

"Mac, let me explain." Stella tried slightly pleading.

"Mac?" Flack asked. He was shocked by how Mac had addressed Stella. "You okay? Everything okay?"

"I'm on my way."

"Mac?" This time it was Danny. "Those were some harsh words Mac. What happened to tying the knot?"

"The only knot I'm about to tie is the one I've learned as a Marine." Mac said. He suddenly jerked the car door hard and Stella gave a cry of shock. She immediately released her grip on the door as she was afraid that her hand would get caught. "You better find me the right bastard, least I wrap the cord around the neck of the bastard of my choosing."

"Mac?" Danny cried out in surprise. "What the hell is going on?"

Mac didn't reply. Instead he abruptly hung up his cell phone. He started the car, gave Stella and Adam a pointed look and then pulled away, not caring that he was in no condition to be driving.

* * *

Well here's the beginning of Epilogue with a twist. As you probably can tell, I'm quite upset about A/S, the way Mac should be when he finds out about them. Depending on my creative streak, the story may or may not follow the rest of the plot line. Anyhow, if you want to know more about what happens next, then please remember to **Review**!


	2. The Decision

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 2 The Decision **

The tension in the crime lab was unbearable. Everyone was working in silence and when they needed to speak to each other, they spoke in whispers. Even though Mac had locked himself inside his office, the murderous air that was surrounding him was affecting the performance of the entire lab. Although everyone was curious about Mac's change in attitude, no on dared to find the cause since they were afraid of ending up on the receiving end of Mac's wrath.

"I believe there's a problem." Danny announced as he wheeled into Mac's office with a folder in his hand. "You see I signed up to be a detective, but instead landed in the Marines. You know who I have to contact to get transferred?"

"What have you got?" Mac asked, ignoring Danny's comment. He stopped writing and looked up at Danny.

"I've got nothing." Danny replied, turning serious when Mac didn't respond to his joke. "I bumped into Adam when I was heading down to Sid's to get the bullets that were retrieved from Jane Doe. He insisted that I bring these to you." Danny slid the folder across the desk. "He kept mumbling about not wanting to cause any more problems."

Mac hummed at that. He flipped through the folder, scanned the contents and then placed the folder aside.

"Lindsey mentioned the shooters left a message for the police at last night's crime scene. The message was left on one of those gigantic TV's in Times Square. Have Ross locate where the message was coming from."

"Sure. Anything else Mac?"

Mac stood up and walked over to a cabinet. He rummaged through files, pulled one out and handed it to Danny. Danny took the folder and flipped through it. One of his eyebrows rose when he saw that this was his job application.

"Should have read the fine print." Mac mentioned with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Danny's eyes focused on the small words and after reading a few lines, his other eyebrow rose to match the first. "If you still got any problems Messer, you can take it up with the Lieutenant."

* * *

Stella let out another ethnic curse. She couldn't concentrate on the task at hand. All she could think about was Mac and how he was a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. She was actually surprised that he hadn't exploded yet. Then again the atmosphere of the lab had spoken for itself. Again Stella let out another set of ethnic curses. This was all her fault, and she knew it.

After Mac had speed off last night, she had quickly departed from Adam's place. When she arrived at her apartment, she had found an unmarked envelop taped to the door. Her heart had sunk when she opened the envelop to find a set of keys to her apartment. Her heart had sunk even further when she listened to the messages that had been left on the answering machine. Of course she had tried to call Mac but he never picked up nor did he return her calls. She had even been desperate enough to drive to the opposite side of the city in hopes of confronting him at his home. But he hadn't been home nor had he been at the office where she had expected him to be. Reluctantly she had returned home only to return to the lab a few hours later, relieved to find Mac sitting at his desk, scribbling madly onto a notepad.

"Hey Stella,"

Stella let out another ethnic curse at the person who had interrupted her thoughts. She managed a tight lip smile and then gave a nod to the lab tech, beckoning him into her office.

"Just got back from processing the elevator." Adam began anxiously, stepping into her office. "About last night, I uh…"

Stella waved a hand to stop the younger man from continuing.

"Danny," Stella greeted as she spotted the man waiting by her doorway.

"Am I interrupting something?" Danny asks as he had heard the beginning of Adam's comment.

"No, not all." Stella replied hastily. Danny looked at her suspiciously before turning to Adam.

"Mac wants you find where the message from the big screen TV in Times Square came from."

"Sure right away." Adam said. Danny watched Adam leave before turning back to Stella.

"You know Stella, when the bomb explodes, we're all going to die." Danny said softly. "I'm quite content with being alive right now so I'm going to suggest that you march over to the Lieutenant's office and apologize. I don't care how you do it, just make up. Break protocol if you have to."

"And how do you know that I'm the one at fault? You could very well be defending the wrong person."

"There's a reason I'm paid to be a detective and not a Marine." Danny responded. "I overhead bits and pieces of last night's conversation. I don't know what the circumstances were, but Mac never calls you Bonasera and you never plead for him to listen. You're too stubborn to back off or reason with him after an argument, let alone desperately plead for him to listen."

Heavy silence fell between Danny and Stella.

"Look Stella, I've got to find Sid." Danny said at last. "Hopefully by the time I return, Lieutenant Taylor will be gone and Big Mac will be back."

* * *

"It's good to have you back." Sid greets his former M.E.

"I'm glad to be here, however temporary this may be." Hawkes replied as he helped Sid move a body onto the autopsy table. "Mac's mobilized everyone he can onto this case, allowing them to do what they do best. Since I can double as an M.E and CSI, I volunteered to be here."

"Far away from Lt. Taylor's mighty reign." Danny said as he approached the two.

"Not far away enough." Hawkes muttered to himself.

"Where are the bullets Sid?" Danny asked. "I better get them to ballistics ASAP. I already got held up by Adam, Mac and Stella…"

Sid handed the packaged bullets to Danny.

"I wouldn't be too hopeful with finding a link between both of last nights crimes." Sid mentioned. "Unless our shooter could be two places at once, he can't possibly have shot Jane Doe and the bar…"

"We'll let the evidence speak for itself." Danny replied taking the package. "Thanks Sid."

"And Danny, tell Lindsey I'm sorry for bailing out on her." Hawkes mentioned. "I rather not deal with the Lt. if possible."

Danny hummed in dislike.

"When did I become the messenger boy?"

* * *

"Detective Taylor?"

Mac looked up from his paperwork, raising an eyebrow at the unfamiliar women lingering in his doorway.

"Yes, that's me. How may I help you?"

"My name is Haylen Becall and I clean up crime scenes."

Mac didn't respond immediately and so Haylen decided to continue.

"I believe I found a bloody undocumented print on the elevator that had been processed at the hotel by a man named Adam Ross this morning."

At this Mac sat up straighter in his chair. He reached out and grabbed a file on his desk.

"Here, look at this." Haylen pulled out a digital camera and showed the photo of the bloody print that had been left on the top of the elevator.

"I'm not a professional or anything so the photo's probably pretty bad. I figured that I might as well save everyone some time by bringing a photo to match the ones that already have been documented."

"You've got an eye for detail, Ms. Becall." Mac mentioned as he looked back and froth through the documents in the folder and the photo in the digital camera.

"Thank you Sir," Haylen beamed under the praise.

"The print's definitely undocumented." Mac said, closing the folder. "I'll send one of my CSI's…"

"Do you have anyone to spare? I mean I heard about the case and all…" Haylen interrupted.

"Believe me, I do." Mac said. "Two dead cops within a month of each other, plus one injury and the continual shootings, I believe the city's going to put a lot of resources into this case."

"I'm just saying that I could do it if you like." Haylen said shyly. "Always wanted to be a CSI. In fact that's what I studied to become. A part time job as a crime scene cleanup tech is just a stepping stone to being what I want to be."

Mac stared intently at Haylen. Finally he stood from his desk, grabbed his jacket and headed out of his office.

"Show me what you got, Haylen."

* * *

"Has the Lieutenant ever fired anyone out of rage?" Lindsey asked curiously as she joined Stella in the break room.

"Not that I know of." Stella replied. "Why do you ask Linds?"

"Oh I don't know. I passed by Mac's office while I was heading here. His office door was open and I overheard parts of their conversation. She said something about finding an undocumented print. Right before I turned the corner, I saw them heading towards the elevator—together."

"Probably gone to document the print." Stella shrugged.

"Only to document the print?" Lindsey asked again. "Mac could have asked anyone to do the job. Why go himself? You don't think there's…"

"Anything between them? No I don't think there is."

"I still think you should apologize soon Stella. Whatever the two of you are fighting about, its not worth it, especially now when everything else in the world seems to be falling apart. If there's anything that these recent events have taught me, its that life's short, happiness is even shorter. We best cherish what we have, when we have it." She paused and then looked straight into the other women's eyes. "He's the one Stella. Don't let him slip away."

"I screwed up Lindsey. I screwed up real bad." Stella let out a heavy sigh. "I don't think a simple apology is going to enough."

"You won't know till you try." Lindsey said optimistically. "This is Mac we're talking about. Both of you have been through so much." She hesitated before continuing. "You know Stella, I had really thought the worst when you turned in your badge and gun to Mac. If he hadn't gone after you then…" Again she paused. "But then he had gone after you and everything was once again alright. Greece was something wasn't it?"

* * *

Chief Sinclair hated the media. He especially hated them when they were either fueled by the public's fear or rage. They were currently fueled by both. With last night's shooting that ended with the death of a second law enforcement officer, the public was demanding for quick results. They wanted the reassurance that the city was still safe as well as the rapid capture of the criminal or criminals who were responsible for this particular crime.

"The press conference is about to start Chief."

"Where's Taylor, Flack? He should be the one holding this damn conference."

"He's busy trying to solve the case, chief. I'm sure you rather have him there then here." Don paused. "How long is this conference? 2-3 hours? With any luck the case will be solved by then."

* * *

Stella frowned as she watched Mac step out of the elevator engaged in a deep conversation with a young women whom Stella assumed was the person that Lindsey had mentioned seeing earlier today. She watched with interest as the two of them approached Danny and her, stopping a few feet away from them.

"This is Haylen Becall." Mac said, without glancing at Stella. "This is Detective Messer and Detective Bonasera. Show her around. She will be making observations…for now."

"For now?" Stella echoed curiously. Mac ignored her. He had already turned around and was walking towards his office.

"Stella." Danny addressed, drawing attention onto him. He gave her a pointed look, subtly jerking his head in Mac's direction. "Go on Stella."

"This isn't the time or the place."

"Then when? Where? Don't worry, I can handle this."

"Fine!" She grounded out reluctantly. She spun on her heels and slowly walked towards Mac's office. By the time she reached Mac's office, her heart was pounding as she thought of ways to breech the delicate subject without it blowing up in the lab. She lingered in the doorway for a few seconds before stepping inside, gently shutting the door behind her. Mac who had gone back to scribbling madly on a piece of paper on his desk refused to acknowledge her.

"If you aren't here about the case, then I suggest that you leave now." Mac broke the silence, still focused on writing whatever he was writing. "I've got a lab to run and criminals to catch. Jessica's gone, that second officer is dead, the bar tender's dead, my tipster's dead, Danny's stuck in that chair, and all I've got are witnesses and evidences that lead to nowhere. So if you'll excuse me, I'm getting back to the case."

"You keep using words like my, me, I. It's we, Mac. It's always been we and us, together. We run the lab. We have criminals to catch. We have witnesses and evidences that lead to nowhere."

"and would that include Ross?" Mac shot back, lifting his head to glare at Stella.

"Look Mac, last night was…."

"I don't want to hear about your personal life Bonasera. I don't give a damn about what you do outside of work."

"You have a funny way of showing it. The atmosphere in the lab tells me otherwise."

"Think what you want. I care for the wellbeing of my lab members in the context of work related issues. I don't give a damn about anything else."

"Ah. So you're fuming about the lack of productiveness that's been going on today in the lab." Stella remarked. "Haven't you realized that the reason behind this lack of productiveness is because your mood is affecting everyone else. And the reason behind your mood is because of me and what you stumbled upon last night."

"Stumbled?" Mac repeated, his voice raising. "If you hadn't turned off your damn phone, I wouldn't have stumbled into anything. Unless you would have said anything about it later on, I would have remained blissfully unaware. Perhaps there is some good in remaining ignorant. Then again I probably still would be perusing a women who's heart has already been claim by another. Heck, I might have foolishly been doing so all along."

"Calm down Mac. I'm not here to further irritate you. For once listen to your head and not your heat! If you do then perhaps you'll realize that there's no reason to be jealous. Therefore your anger founded by jealousy is unfounded."

This seem to irritate Mac even more. For a minute he didn't respond.

"Jealous?" Mac was laughing as he screamed the word. "You think I'm angry because I'm jealous?"

"Yes! Why else..?"

And that was when the dam broke.

"I'm angry at myself!" Mac screamed. "I'm angry at my own stupidity! After 10 years of working together, I would have thought we had come to some sort of understanding. You are my best friend yet you still know nothing about me. You can't even distinguish my moods and here I had been mislead to believe that we could hold mental conversations. Do you know how I had made last night's discovery? I had thought something happened to you. I had thought the worst when you didn't answer your phone. I care about you! I care about you so much that it hurts! I thought I made that clear when we were in Greece. When you didn't return the calls, I panicked! I panicked even more when Flack notified me of last nights shooting which resulted in a second officer's death. I was scared. You were missing. Naturally I thought the shootings and your disappearance were connected. I thought you and Adam were being held as hostages. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined stepping into…." Mac couldn't bring himself to say it. "But I guess none of that matter now, does it? It doesn't matter that the women I see dying every night seeks comfort in another man's arms!"

Stella blinked at the confession that Mac had spat out.

"Mac, I…" She reached out and tried to touch his shoulder. He jerked away so she was only able to grasp a handful of air.

"Don't touch me!" He hissed. "Don't you think you've hurt me enough? I'm not a man to be played."

Abruptly he stood up. He grabbed a few documents on his desk and strode pass Stella, storming out of his office. Quickly Stella spun on her heels and raced after him.

"I'm not playing!" She screamed, not caring that she was drawing attention onto them.

"The why are you here trying to justify your relationship with your _boyfriend?_" Apparently Mac didn't care about the attention either. He was heading towards the elevator with Stella a few steps behind him.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Stella didn't even notice that she had been standing next to Adam when she had said that.

"No? Didn't know you were that casual." Mac said coldly, not slowly down. Stella faltered and then continued chasing after Mac.

"That's cold."

"Welcome to my world." Mac pressed the down button, waiting for the elevator doors to open.

"Thought I was already part of it." Stella retorted, at last catching up to Mac. The elevator doors opened. He turned to Stella, made sure he caught her eyes with his and then spoke in a calm and collective voice.

"No. Claire was. For a brief time so was Peyton. You _never_ were part of my world and never will be."

Mac stepped through the elevator. Stella remained rooted to her spot. She wanted to follow him, but found herself unable to. Never had Mac spoken to her in such a fashion. Never had she imagined that Mac would ever speak to her in such a fashion. But he just did. By the looks of, Mac had meant every word.

* * *

Sinclair slammed his fist onto the desk. The single badge and gun that belonged to the head of the crime lab jumped from its spot before returning to its original position on his desk which was on top of a stack of unfamiliar documents.

"Damn you Taylor!" Sinclair swore heavily once he had scanned the contents of the documents. Quickly he picked up the badge, gun and papers before heading out of his office and onto the elevator.

"TAYLOR!" Chief Sinclair bellowed as he stepped into the crime lab. "TAYLOR!"

He made his way to Mac's office, stopping in front of it when he noticed that no one was there.

"He stormed out over two hours ago." Stella said wearily, approaching the angry chief.

"Damn it!" The chief said. He took out his phone and dialed Mac's number. He let out a frustrated growl when no one picked up.

"No use. I've tried that already. Did something happen to him?" She asked hesitantly, noticing Mac's badge and gun in the chief's hand. Despite the cruel words that had been exchanged, Stella still cared about Mac's welfare. Sinclair responded by stepping into Mac's office. Stella followed suit with a sigh.

"You tell me Bonasera." Sinclair snapped back the moment the door closed firmly behind her. "I don't care what you and Taylor are childishly fighting over, but you better find a way to mend it. I don't care how, but you will mend it. Break protocol if you have to. I'm not going to lose my best detective because of…"

"If I may ask sir, what exactly are you talking about? What do you mean, losing your best detective? Mac didn't, did he?" Stella eyed the badge and gun again.

"You tell me." Sinclair repeated. "You're his partner and perhaps something more if the rumors floating around the police department are true."

"We had a fight."

"A fight that resulted in this?" Sinclair threw the badge, gun and papers he was carrying onto Mac's desk. "A fight that led to Taylor's departure from the NYPD? I'm not going to accept this Bonasera! I will not accept this. The public's already furious with the recent shootings, Taylor's departure is going to cause havoc."

"I was unaware of his decision." Stella said truthfully.

"Decisions." The chief corrected with displeasure. "He wrote a brilliant recommendation for Messer to replace him as the head of the crime lab. He also submitted documents to fire Ross on the grounds that he compromised the case by not properly documenting evidence and Taylor also submitted a job application for Haylen Becall. As these are all recommendations made by Taylor himself, the likelihood that these will come true is very high."

"Oh my God."

"Luckily I wasn't there when Taylor submitted these. He also didn't submit a formal resignation letter so therefore he has to come back to properly finalize and formalize his resignation. As long as he delays this, he's still part of the NYPD. However knowing Taylor, he won't bother with this step. In his mind, he's already cut all ties to law enforcement."

* * *

Mac didn't know how long he had been sitting at the bar. After he had left Sinclair's office, he had driven aimlessly around the city, trying to clear his mind. When he had driven pass Fort Hamilton, he had thought about reentering the military. He had nothing left to lose. Both Stella and his job were gone now and so there was nothing left to tie him down. The only thing that kept him from joining Fort Hamilton was that it was an Army base and he was a Marine at core. If he really wanted to reenter the Marines, he would have to leave the State, and that was one thing he wasn't prepared to do yet.

"Nice spot to be fishing Detective. Surely you don't think that out of all the bars, this one will be the next target. This one's swamped with men and women of the armed forces. If the shooters attack here, its like attacking the country." A man said from behind Mac. "Unless of course this is one of the many nets that the NYPD has set up around the city."

Mac turned around, wanting to tell whoever it was to leave him alone, that he wasn't in the mood for anything besides alcohol. He stopped when he noticed who it was.

"Colonel," Mac hastily stood up. He tried to salute but after drinking countless bottles of alcohol, his movements were impaired and he barely managed to stand properly without immediately toppling over.

"You're drunk, Detective." The colonel stated the obvious.

"It …doesn't… matter." Mac slurred as he managed to sit down.

"It will after I report this to the chief. You might be the best detective in the city, but you're not above the law. This behavior is highly inappropriate." The Colonel took out his cell and began to dial a number.

"It doesn't matter." Mac repeated. "Not part...of the..NYPD any…any longer."

"What?" The Colonel asked, shocked. He stopped dialing and gave Mac a look that demanded an explanation.

"Turned in my badge and gun." Mac said as though it was the most obvious answer. "She doesn't…need me. The city…doesn't need me. Am planning to do what I do best."

"Get your ass back to the police department, Detective. That's where you belong." The Colonel picked up his phone again. "Better yet, I'll call your partner to pick you up."

"No!" Mac said hastily. "No!"

"You don't have a choice."

"Send me to the Marines if you must but don't send me back there. I'll make a fine Lieutenant. No, I made a fine Lieutenant. Beirut didn't kill me. She'll kill me." Mac spoke rapidly. "I hurt her Colonel. I intentionally hurt her. I knew I shouldn't have said the things I said, but I did anyway. I've got nothing left. There are four things that I'll protect at any cost, three of which I've failed already. Let me die serving my country, don't let me be murdered at the hands of the one that I love more then life itself."

"You're drunk Detective. Come morning and you'll regret everything you've done today." Once more the Colonel picked up his phone and started dialing. "Fine, I won't call your partner. I'll call the Chief."

"He won't care. Sinclair's been… wanting to… get rid of me since… who knows when."

The Colonel ignored him.

"Have it your way." Mac stood up, pulled out a couple of bills and slammed it onto the table. "I'll be gone…by the time they…. get here."

Hobbling unsteadily, Mac made his way to the door.

* * *

The phone rang, interrupting the conversation between the two. Stella took the chance to take a breath as Sinclair pulled out his cell.

"Sinclair. He's what? Where is he? Yes Colonel, that is correct. No, Sir, he is still an officer. One of my best, Sir. I appreciate that Sir. I'll send his partner to retrieve him. Have a nice…" Sinclair didn't get to finish. A sudden explosion of shots interrupted in his ear. The shots were so loud that it caused Stella to jump from surprise.

"Colonel?" Sinclair asked uselessly into the phone as the gunshots continued to ring. "Damn it!"

Sinclair took a few steps and opened the door, immediately gaining attention from the members of the lab.

"There's a shooting going on right now at a bar that's two blocks away from Fort Hamilton. Send dispatch officers and paramedics immediately."

"Right away chief." Danny replied. Seeing that Danny seemed to be able to handle the situation, Sinclair stepped back into Mac's office. Once again he placed the phone to his ear.

"Colonel?" The chief asked. This time he was greeted by silence. The shooting had stopped and no matter how hard he strained his ear, Sinclair couldn't hear anything. He was about to hang up, when a voice spoke on the other end of the land.

"The Colonel's… been shot" Mac's voice came from the other side.

"TAYLOR!" Sinclair screamed, both relieved and angry with the man on the other line. He was about to speak when Stella rudely grabbed the phone away from his ear.

"Mac?" Stella said anxiously. "Mac? I heard the shooting. What's going on? Where are you? Are you okay?"

For a long time Stella was greeted by silence.

"Mac? Answer me damn it!"

"The Colonel's... been shot." Mac repeated, his voice lacked all emotion. "I will…I will.. stay with him until…until… the paramedics arrive. Afterwards, I shall... take my leave."

"You're not going anywhere Mac!" Stella interrupted. "You're a police officer damn it! You swore an oath to protect and serve the people of this city!" She paused. "You're hurt aren't you? You never stutter."

Again silence greeted Stella.

"Mac Taylor!"

"I'll stay until the paramedics arrive." Mac repeated, speaking as clearly as he could. "I've got personal matters to deal with."

Before Stella could say anything else, the phone line went dead.

* * *

Here's chapter 2. Hopefully this wasn't too out there that it was unbelievable. Just wanted to show everything spinning out of control and how one rash decision could lead to the next. Do remember to **Review**! I want to know how you all think about this fic.


	3. Aftermath

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 3 Aftermath**

Time had always been a friend to her. As a police officer she had always been able to dictate what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it. She had been able to control time in one form or another. Of course there were always exceptions, but these exceptions came and went and time had always returned by her side. Now time was once again against her and for the first time she was afraid that time would remain on the opposing side forever. She had to reach Mac. She had to reach him before the paramedics did. She didn't want to think of the consequences that might result if she didn't make it in time.

"Step on it Chief." Stella urged the driver of the car. "I must get there before the paramedics do. With everything that's been going on, I wouldn't put it pass Mac to carry out his threat. I must get there to stop him from doing something stupid."

"I have no control over traffic." Sinclair responded. "What makes you think your presence is going to make a difference?"

Stella held on tighter as she felt Sinclair sped up.

"He's currently a stubborn idiot running on a one track mind."

"The mentality of a solider."

"A Marine." Stella corrected. "Now we both know how dangerous and out of control things can get when a person who has both a military and a law enforcement background decides to take things personal. Ever since Claire died, we've kind of been each other's anchors. Yes we just had a fight. And yes I don't quite know what I'm going to do. What I do know is I've got to do something. I'm the cause of this mess. I better start picking up the pieces before it's too late."

"Looks like time's still on our side." Sinclair commented as he double parked in front of the bar. "I don't see the paramedics yet." He stopped when he heard the sounds of sirens that were coming from the ambulance. "Or perhaps not. You better corner him Bonasera. I'll deal with the rest."

"Thanks Chief." Stella replied. She stepped out of the car and ran into the bar, trying her best to avoid the paramedics who were coming in right behind her. Looking around, she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Mac kneeling at the back of the bar with his back facing her. Before him was a man who was lying on his back in a pool of his own blood. Stella wanted to call out to Mac, but then she remembered his threat and so decided to surprise him instead. Quietly she stepped closer to Mac, raising a finger to her lips when the conscious man who was lying in his own blood opened his mouth to speak.

"Not taking chances." Stella said the moment she was standing directly behind Mac. Before Mac could react, Stella pulled out her handcuffs and cuffed Mac's hands behind his back. The mouths of the people, mostly soldiers, who had been standing around Mac and the injured colonel fell open in shock.

"Do you mind if I take this." Stella indicated, pointing at Mac's jacket which had been used to soak up the blood coming from the colonel's wound in his stomach. "The paramedics are here and I rather not have anybody see…"

The Colonel nodded his head in approval. Stella took the jacket and dapped it on Mac's shoulders.

"Up." Stella demanded. Mac didn't move.

"You'll probably have to help him. He's drunk so much I'm surprised he isn't dead from alcohol poisoning."

Stella cursed as she pulled Mac up. The two nearly lost their balanced and toppled when one of the paramedics knocked into her as the paramedic was trying to get to the injured colonel.

"Walk Mac." Stella demanded. "Walk."

Mac didn't move. Stella tried pushing him and then pulling him along, but he still didn't move.

"You behave around this lady, Lieutenant." The Colonel said as he was being placed into a stretcher. "and I'll put in a good word for you."

Mac didn't reply. He took a step forward, lost his balance and fell face forward, banging his shoulder hard on the floor. Stella let out a series of ethic curses as she once again heaved the man to his feet. This time she tried to support him by allowing him to lean against her as she placed her hands around his waist to guide his movements. Slowly the two hobbled toward the exit.

"Bonasera," The chief called out just as the two of them were about to leave the bar.

"Yes Chief?" Stella turned to face Sinclair. Sinclair looked between the two of his best detectives. "Take my car. I'll grab a ride from Ross." The Chief threw a pair of keys to Stella which she caught easily.

"And Taylor, if you hurt her, I swear to you now that you will be the next crime scene."

Again Mac didn't respond verbally. Stella thanked the chief with a nod before leading them to the Sinclair's car. She opened the passenger door and helped him into the seat. She then walked to the other side and got into the driver's seat.

The Chief watched Stella drive off before turning his attention back to the crime scene.

"Messer," The chief said as he walked up to Danny.

"Yes Chief?"

"You're in charge here. Bonasera has taken Taylor home. I'm counting on her to knock some sense into him."

"Don't worry Chief, she'll have him on his ass in no time." Danny replied without thinking. It was only when the words came out did he realize his poor choice of words. "I mean she'll put him in his place in no time."

"Indeed she will." The chief agreed. "I'm going back to the office to fix the mess Taylor's left behind. Ross, you're coming with me. I need a ride back to the office."

Adam who had been gathering evidence next to Danny stood up and turned to look at Sinclair.

"Sure thing Chief." Ross replied. "Right now?"

"Yes."

Sinclair followed Adam to his car. He allowed a couple of blocks to pass in silence before deciding to speak again.

"You're off this case until I can decide what to do with you."

"Off the case?" Ross repeated. "But Chief, this is probably the biggest and most important case as of late. I've always been a valuable member of the team…"

"And it's because of that that is why I haven't fired you yet."

"Fire me? But Chief…"

"On the grounds that Taylor hasn't been making the best of decisions lately, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt Ross."

"Wait, it's _his_ decision?"

"I make the final decision Ross." Sinclair clarified. "Taylor's one of the finest on the force. His name holds a lot of weight and his decisions are always taken seriously. However in light of his other recent poorly made decisions, I have decided to use my power to exercise discretion. You and Ms. Becall will be working on two separate cases. At the end of the month, I will only keep one."

* * *

Stella drove in silence. Mac was staring out of the side window with an angry expression plastered on his face. Once or twice, Stella wanted to break the heavy silence but then thought better of it. She didn't want to have a shouting match while she was driving.

"Damn it. Sinclair's going to kill me." Stella said as she helped Mac out of the car, noticing that parts of the passenger seat were stained with fresh blood. Slowly with his body pressed against her own, the two of them made it up to her apartment. After locking the door firmly behind them, Stella left Mac standing in the middle of her living room. A moment later she returned with a backpack in one hand and a first aid kit in the other.

"Are you hurt?" Stella asked at last. "You're covered in blood. I just want to make sure none of it is yours."

Mac didn't say anything. Stella dropped the backpack and first aid kit by her feet. She then stepped closer to Mac so that they were inches apart. Using both hands she pushed the jacket off his shoulders. She let her hands rest there before letting his fingers trail down in a v shape until she came to the top button on his dress shirt. With ease, she unbuttoned the button and then moved down to the next one.

"Talk to me Mac." She instructed. She undid the last button and then pulled the dress shirt back so that it was now curled up on top of his handcuffs. Stella smirked slightly when she noticed that Mac wasn't wearing a T-shirt. Stella stepped back and allowed her eyes to travel across his body as she inspected for wounds. When she found none, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Let me go." Mac said quietly with a hint of warning in his voice. "If you think I'm going to just stand here and let you take advantage of me…"

"Take advantage of you?" Stella asked in confusion. "I wasn't…" And then she understood where he had gotten that idea. "You're drunk Mac. You're not thinking straight."

"I'm sober enough to know what you're doing." Mac shot back.

"If you're sober, then you would have realized I'm merely checking for wounds." She gestured to the first aid kit. "You weren't talking and I'm not going to take chances."

"I'm not injured, now let me go."

"No. I'm not letting you go Mac. I brought you home for a reason. Your current mind set scares me. Your recent decisions scare me. I don't want to imagine the types of behaviors that may arise if I let you walk out that door right now. I don't want to be waken tomorrow by a call that either says you've been arrested because you went off to kill those shooters or a call that says you were killed by those shooters. I don't want you be murdered or become a murderer and that's exactly what's going to happen if I let you make this personal. So no Mac. I'm not letting you go."

Mac was silent. Even now, after all these years, he couldn't believe how accurate Stella was able to read him.

"I meant the cuffs." He said at last.

"Are you going to behave?" Stella asked wearily.

"I gave my promise to the Colonel." Mac responded. "I don't break my promises."

"Promise me then. Promise me that if I release you, you'll go and take a shower and then go to sleep. We'll deal with tomorrow later. Hopefully by then you're be back to normal." Stella paused as she looked directly into his eyes.

"I promise." Mac replied. Stella stared at him for a moment longer and then walked behind him. She fumbled in her pockets until she found the key. She hesitated and then unlocked one of the handcuffs. She immediately regretted her actions as Mac's free hand grabbed her own and twisted it. Stella let out a cry of pain but he ignored it. In an instant he had spun around so that they were both facing each other. Mac cuffed her hand with the free cuff and then held the wrist of that hand with a painful grip from his own hand that was cuffed. Stella who had been shocked by both Mac's actions and the pain, was easily distracted when Mac used his free hand to jerk the handcuff key out of Stella's hand. Before Stella knew it, Mac had freed himself and used the empty cuff to cuff the leg of the coffee table. It was only after all this did he release his painful grip on Stella's wrist.

"Don't do this Mac." Stella pleaded helplessly as Mac frisked her. He found her gun and pocketed it. He then picked up the backpack and headed for the door.

"Please Mac. Don't do this. It's not worth it. No matter how bad things get, we'll work this out. If you do this then you're no better then them, then those you've been putting behind bars for years. You're better then them Mac. You don't have to do this."

* * *

"What's the reason that Mac gives for firing me?" Adam asked at last.

"For you sloppiness and causing distractions at work. Apparently there was a case where you missed documenting evidence and something else about flying paper airplanes." Sinclair replied.

"But…"

Adam's cell interrupted them.

"I better answer that." Adam said, pulling over and then flashing the emergency lights. "That's the ringtone I use for the boss."

Sinclair hummed.

"Ross"

"You better head over to your girlfriend's place." Mac interrupted.

"What happened Mac? Is she okay?" Adam asked, ignoring the choice of words, worry creeping into his voice. He knew that he and Mac weren't getting along and so something big must have happened if Mac was willing to talk directly to him about it.

"That depends on you. The door's unlocked." Mac paused. "Bring an extra set of handcuff keys."

"What's going on?"

"And if you hurt her Ross, Ill make sure you take the blame for the murders of those responsible for the bar shootings, that is, if I decide not to murder you myself."

"Mac…" Adam was going to say something but the phone line went dead.

* * *

Stella didn't know how long she was handcuffed to the coffee table in her own home. She was going to call someone to free her, but both her cell and home phone were out of reach. She heard footsteps coming from outside and then watched anxiously as the handle to her door turned and open. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Adam and Sinclair.

"Stella!" Adam cried out loud. He rushed over to her and freed her from the cuffs. "What happened?"

"He cuffed me." Came the miserable reply.

"Mac cuffed you?"

"Yes."

"Weren't you the one who had him cuffed earlier today?" Sinclair asked.

"Yeah, but he tricked me. Made a promise and then broke it." Stella said. "After cuffing me, he took my gun and fled. I'm worried about him Chief. I'm scared about what he's going to do. He's angry, drunk and armed." Stella rubbed her throbbing wrist. "He's never used physical force against me nor has he ever broken a promise. I kind of feel sorry for those shooters Mac's targeted or anyone else that might get in his path."

"He hurt you?" Adam and Sinclair spoke simultaneously.

"Minor incident when he was cuffing me. He probably didn't even realize what he was doing. Then again he probably doesn't know what he's doing right now."

"Of course he doesn't." Adam agreed. "Otherwise he wouldn't threaten me for hurting you, not that I would. I wouldn't hurt you, Stella, ever."

"He did what?" Stella asked shocked. "He threatened you…"

"You deserve better." Adam added. "I seriously misjudged him."

"Mac's not Frankie!" Stella shouted, interrupting Adam. "I'll pick him over you any time!"

"You obviously didn't." Adam retorted.

"My mistake! You were the lost puppy who needed some comfort kiddo! My judgment was poor that night. I regret my actions and would do anything to take them back. It's because of you that Mac and I are fighting. It's because of you that Mac handed in his resignation letter. It's because of you that he'll turn his back on everything and everyone and become a murderer!"

"Me?"

"Yes! You have no idea how much pain you've caused in my life! Get out before I get Mac to escort you. Despite our current fight, the moment I hint that you're hurting me, he'll gun you down before you can say 'sorry'."

"_Sor_…"

"Get out Ross!" Sinclair interrupted from her doorway. Both Stella and Adam jumped since they had forgotten that he was still here. "Before I fire you now or better yet murder you on Taylor's behalf."

Adam's mouth fell open in shock.

"Get out Ross." Stella repeated.

"You heard the lady. Get out before I find someone to escort you." Sinclair threatened. "It won't be pretty."

"Fine!" Adam pushed his way pass Sinclair and ran down the flight of stairs.

"I better go after him." Sinclair said at last. Stella nodded. She watched Sinclair walked to the top of the stairs, take a few steps down and then come back up again. He made sure he had caught Stella's eye before speaking in a soft and clear voice.

"Thought you should know, Bonasera, that Taylor quietly endured hell's wrath for your little stunt with Diakos and Greece. Yet by the end of it all, all he wanted was to make sure I had his back when he finally proposes to you."

"and what did you tell him?" Stella asked just as quietly as though dreading the negative response.

"You would have been married by now if Jessica Angell hadn't died, the bar shootings hadn't occurred and your stupidity hadn't gotten the best of you. Frankly I don't know why it took so long. The betting pool's been going on ever since Claire died and has been growing bigger since. I would have thought my rule bending with the Messers would have given him encouragement to act but I had been wrong. When he finally came to me asking for my support, I practically told him to leave my office, grab you and have the ceremony immediately. Forget being engaged, the two of you have already been in that stage since 9/11. Of course with him being a gentlemen and all, he would have wanted it to be special. It would have been soon, believe me, it would have been real soon."

* * *

What do you think? Do remember to **Review**!


	4. d1134

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 4 d1134**

Reed Garrett was buying a cup of morning coffee when he noticed one of the headlines on the New York Times. He grabbed a copy, paid for both his coffee and paper and then strode quickly away. He balanced his coffee and paper in one hand as he furiously dialed a number with the other. He continuously pressed redial as he kept getting voicemail. Finally he tried calling a different number.

"Bonasera."

"Stella?" Reed asked hesitantly.

"Yes? Who's this?"

"It's Reed. Reed Garrett." Reed said quickly. "I'm Claire's son. Mac gave me your number. He said I could contact you in an emergency if I couldn't get a hold of him…."

"Are you okay Reed?" Stella asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. Shocked but fine. Saw this morning's paper and I couldn't get a hold of him. Thought you might be able to and uh…."

"Reed, I can't get a hold of Mac either. The media's blown this way out of portion."

"So he didn't resign?"

"Mac has decided to step away from the field for some time. I'm hoping that he'll be back after he carries out his personal mission and doesn't die or get arrested in the process."

"Very reassuring." Reed mumbled more to himself. "Why didn't you stop him Stella?"

"There's nothing I could have done."

"Of course you could have done something! He was going to marry you!" Reed interrupted. "When he came over for Thanksgiving, we had become so close that _dad_ asked me what I thought if you were to become a permanent fixture in our lives."

"Reed, please, not now." Stella said in a strained voice.

"But you got to do something!"

"I can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You're the reason why he left." Reed stated with a hint of accusation.

"Look Reed. I'm sorry for whatever inconveniences I have caused. Believe me, I'll do anything to have Mac back. Until then all I can do is focus on the case at hand."

"Are you going to even attempt to look for him?"

"If Mac wishes to remain under the radar, Mac's going to stay under the radar."

"You're probably right. I just can't understand why he did this. This isn't him." He paused before continuing. "I'll let you get back to work. I can only imagine how hectic the police department is right now."

"I'm afraid the mayhem's just beginning."

"Ouch. I'll try to keep an eye out for him."

"Thanks. If you do see him, let him know I'm sorry and that I do love him, despite everything that has occurred."

"I will."

"And oh, Reed?"

"Yes Stella?"

"Do remember to stay away…"

"Stay away from bars?" Reed interrupted. "Yeah I heard the news. I'll stay clear from those. The taxi incident was enough for one life time."

* * *

Stella placed down her cell phone and turned her attention back to Lindsey and Hawkes.

"How's Reed?" Lindsey asked. "I take it he's read the morning paper."

"Shocked, upset, angry, confused." Stella listed the emotions on her fingers. "He wanted answers that I didn't have."

"You did remind him to stay away from bars right?" Hawkes added.

"Of course."

"Good, because we just had another shooting." Danny interrupted, stopping at Stella's office doorway.

"Flack's at the scene with some of the other CSI's."

"This is the third one." Hawkes noted.

"Fifth." Danny corrected. "Third bar shooting, but fifth shooting in all. There was a shooting last night at a restaurant and a school shooting an hour or two ago."

"Oh my gosh." Lindsey said. "Are these related?"

"We're waiting for the forensic results. My guess is that it is. The shooters probably increased their attacks either because they've become bold or because they're angry that Mac's getting more air time in the media then they are."

"Sinclair's dealing with the media." Stella said. "and the public in general. We just have to deal with this case."

"We'll deal with the case." Hawkes correct. "You look for Mac."

There was a murmur of agreement from the others who were gathered around her.

"He needs some time to cool off." Stella gave a heavy sigh, unconsciously rubbing the wrist that Mac had held under a painful grip. She had purposely worn long sleeves on a hot day to cover up the small bruises that were beginning to form. "If I go after him now, it'll just make everything worst."

"Go after him Stella." Lindsey urged.

"If he wanted me there, he wouldn't have pushed me away."

"When has that ever stopped you?" Danny countered.

Stella remained silent as she again rubbed the injured wrist. She couldn't face Mac yet. Her memory of him physically hurting her was still fresh in her mind. In fact, when she had finally fallen asleep last night she had nightmares of a man hurting her, with the face of the man constantly changing between Frankie and Mac so that the two of them began to blur together. Of course when she had told Reed that she still loved Mac, she had meant every word but she just couldn't face Mac yet without seeing the monster hidden beneath the surface, even if she knew rationally that the monster didn't exist.

"I just can't!" Stella yelled. "I don't want to see him right now, not like this."

"More the reason to go after him." Danny said again.

"Look, Mac's gone. Adam's as good as gone. If I go, then there's nothing left."

"I've got this Stella. There's a reason why Sinclair put me in charge and not you." He said apologetically. "He expects you to go after Mac. He expects you to bring him back. The chief doesn't expect you to be doing anything else. He doesn't want you to be doing anything else."

"I created this mess. I'll be damn if I make it worst. I'm not going anywhere. That's final." Stella said impatiently. "Now what do you have on the case?

* * *

Adam occasionally glanced miserably toward Stella's office where the rest of the team was gathered. He should be in there with them and not out here working with a bullet from another case. The possibility of losing his job was causing him to lose focus. He just couldn't concentrate, not even when his job depended on it.

"Danny!" He called out, seeing the group in Stella's office leave. "Danny, wait up!" He called out as Danny wheeled towards the elevator.

Hearing his name being called, Danny waited for the CSI to catch up to him.

"You're running the lab right?" Adam asked.

"On paper only. Stella's the one who's running it till Mac returns. It's always been that way and it will remain so."

Adam remained silent.

"Please apologize to Stella and the chief for me."

"Go do that yourself."

"Please Danny, my job depends on it. My life depends on it." Adam pleaded. "I've been getting so many threats lately, I'm afraid it'll come true."

Danny raised an eyebrow.

"I'm serious Danny. With everything that's been going on, the possibility of getting fired is pretty high. The likelihood that I'll die being gun down by Mac, turned into the next crime scene by Sinclair or be ripped apart by Stella is even higher."

"Do your job and you'll be fine." Danny paused. "Sinclair doesn't want you fired or else he'll have fired you already. It's standard protocol."

"Sinclair would have fired me ages ago if Mac didn't…"

"Adam, you're a vital part of this team. The Chief's merely buying time. Mac will be back by then and as long as you do your job correctly, you won't be going anywhere. By the end of all this, everything will be back to normal."

"Just apologize for me."

"Tell you what. I'll put in a good word for you, but you'll have to be the one to apologize."

* * *

Mac was in agony. He had woken up to the sound of gunshots in an alley with a severe headache and had been vomiting non-stop. He was in so much physical, mental and emotional pain that he didn't care where he was, if he was injured or what would happen to him if he stayed. The last thing he clearly remembered was storming out of Sinclair's office after leaving behind his badge and gun.

"Why? Why?" He cried out in anguish as he punched the wall he had been leaning against. He punched the wall a few more times in anger. "Why?"

"You do know walls can't talk right?" A voice said from the distance. "Even if they do hold secrets."

Mac jumped. He wasn't expecting a reply and he hadn't heard anyone approach. He spun around quickly, pulling out Stella's gun and pointed it at the newcomer. He didn't even question why he was carrying a gun when his brain had rationally told him that he had left his own on Sinclair's desk.

"Whoa, whoa Mac." Don's hands sprung up in surrender. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"They sent you to come after me?" Mac asked, replacing the gun.

"You look like shit." Don commented, stepping closer to Mac.

"They sent you after me?" Mac asked again, his hand unconsciously resting on the handle of Stella's gun.

"No." Don replied quickly. "Look Mac, I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but I know…"

"Just go back and pretend you never found me."Mac interrupted. "I made up my mind. I'm not going back."

"I'm not here to bring you back. Believe it or not, I'm surprise to find you here. But now that I found you, I'm not letting you go." Don paused before continuing. "I was called to a bar shooting that is less then a block away."

"You're telling me a shooting occurred right under my nose? A damn shooting that was half a block away and I didn't notice anything?"

"You do look like shit and you smell like alcohol. I wouldn't be surprised if you were knocked out when the crime occurred." Don reasoned. "Besides, that doesn't matter. I'm here now. I'm your friend Mac. I just want to help."

"There's nothing you can do to help me. It's too late. Don't you understand? I've got nothing left. Clai-ella's gone. My job's gone…"

"Clai-ella?" Don asked with a raised eyebrow. In any other circumstance he would have made a comment about it but he just couldn't right now.

"You know what I meant." Mac snapped back.

"No, I don't. Claire's gone. Stella's still here and she's waiting for you to go back to her side."

"She doesn't want me. She doesn't need me. I don't want or need her."

"Bullshit!" Don exploded. "I can't understand why you're doing this! The one that's suppose to be running around making rash decisions like a lunatic is suppose to be me. Jessica's dead! Stella's alive! So what if she made a mistake. We all do. That's human! After all that's happened, I would have done anything just to have her at my side."

Mac swore loudly, cringing at the truth behind those words.

"It's too late Don. I messed up. If I stay, I'll end up hurting her more. There's only one thing I can do now." He turned around and began running away from Don.

"Where are you going Mac?" Don shouted after him, startled at Mac's sudden movement.

Mac didn't reply nor did he need to. The answer had been glowing behind the pair of blue eyes.

* * *

From her office, Stella watched Adam and Danny engage in conversation. From their facial expression, she had an idea about what they were talking about. Even though she was angry at Adam, she still felt sorry for him and his current situation.

"Bonasera." Stella answered her cell phone on the first ring.

"Stella."

"Hey Don, what's up? Found a problem at the scene?"

"No, everything's fine at the crime scene. Just wanted to let you know, I bumped into Mac in an alley."

"Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He looked and smelled like shit." He paused. "He fled after I screamed at him and his idiocy. I suppose I shouldn't have brought up Jess, but I was furious."

"Damn it." Stella softened her voice as she continued. "Are you alright Don?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I for one am not about to quit and go off making threats and gunning down these shooters. At least I'll stick to the law side of it."

"Thank God. We don't need two Mac's on the loose right now."

"I hope I was able to get through to him. You better go after him. He was half a block away from the crime scene and he's on foot. You better have him in custody for possible endangerment of self and or others instead of waiting to arrest him for murder. He's going after them Stella."

"I know. I've known since yesterday when the colonel was shot. He says it's personal, as if it hadn't been personal when his fellow police officers died."

"No offense, but the military is all that he's got left." Don said. "At least to keep him out of trouble for the time being until you can get through to him."

Stella let out a heavy sigh.

"I'll pay the Colonel a visit." She said at last.

"I know this is difficult for you Stella, but this is the only other option he will consider right now."

"Thanks Don, I feel so much better now knowing that Mac's only option is to either be a murderer or be murdered in his homeland or in a foreign country."

* * *

It was early afternoon when Stella had the chance to visit the Colonel at the hospital.

"What a pleasant surprise, Detective." The Colonel greeted the moment Stella stepped into the patient room. "It's nice of you to visit an old man like me when you've got some many other problems going on."

"How are you doing Colonel."

"Better. Believe me, I've had worst."

"I'm sure this is nothing compared to what you've face while on duty."

"Nothing beats performing open heart surgery on oneself in the middle of the battlefield."

"Mac's had to do that himself." Stella commented. "Got a nasty scar right above his heart to prove it."

"Is he treating you okay?" The Colonel asked.

"Put in a good word for him, please?" Stella replied, avoiding the question.

"Is he treating you okay?" The Colonel repeated.

"He left." Stella said avoiding his gaze. "Just put in a good word for him."

Silence fell between them.

"You're letting him go." The Colonel said gently. "It's hurting you. I can see the pain in your eyes and the stiffness in your posture."

"I…I am." Stella replied. "He won't listen to reason. There's nothing more that I can do. It's either the military or revenge. Please Colonel, Mac's a good man out for revenge. I don't want to be the one who stumbles into his crime scene or have to be the one who arrests him."

"Unless he voluntary returns to the Marines, then there is little my recommendation will do. I can't force him to join."

"I'll talk to him." Stella promised.

"Very well Detective." The Colonel agreed. "I suppose a tour in Iraq will help clear his mind."

* * *

"I came to say goodbye." Mac Taylor whispered softly to the grave before him. It was early evening and he had finally calmed down enough to reflect on his recent actions and to set his mind on a new course of action. He didn't know what it was that Don had said, but whatever it was had shocked him back to his senses. He had been an idiot and his stupidity had cost him everything.

"I've been an idiot, Claire." Mac said after clearing his throat. "But then I suppose you've always known that. I've done some terrible things and would have continued to do more if it wasn't for Don. You do remember Don right? He was already on the force when I accepted my job as the head investigator of the crime lab. He had been the one who greeted us at the doorway and spent some time with you while I was talking to Sinclair. He's a great guy and an even better friend." Mac let out a sigh. "I miss him already. I miss all of them. I don't know how to tell you this Claire, but I resigned from the NYPD. Stella and I had a fight again. This time it blew way out of proportion and I'm afraid it's over between us. I hurt her Claire. I've hurt the women I've come to love more then life itself. You'll always have a place in my heart Claire, you know that right? I know you do and that is why I know you would have approved of Stella and I getting married. But it is over now, over before it had the chance to begin. I never even got a chance to tell her that I love her. I've messed up. I messed up so bad that there's no way I can fix it. The only comfort I have is that I've at least made up my mind not to seek revenge. I won't go after those shooters. They are Stella's business now and I'm sure she'll take care of the city just as nicely as I have." Again he paused. "I've decided to leave New York for good. I've got nothing left. I booked a ticket to Chicago for an early morning flight tomorrow. I'll probably stay with mom for a few weeks. I'll see if she needs me. If not, I'll rejoin the Marines."

He reached out and touched the name that was etched on the small grave that Stella had erected for Claire so many years ago. She had claimed that Ground Zero had been too public of an area to be grieving. Of course he had protested, stating how ridiculous it was to build a grave when there was no body to be buried. Stella being Stella had done so anyway and now this grave had become an important part of his life.

"I'm taking the balloon with me along with the few photos I have left of you, of us. I had been an idiot when I had thrown everything away that reminded me of you." He paused. "You'll always be in my heart Claire." He paused. "Watch over Stella for me."

He let his fingers run over her name one last time.

"Goodbye Claire." And with a heavy heart, Mac departed from the graveyard. He hailed a taxi and gave the address of a well known shop that did next day deliveries.

"Is it too late to place a delivery for tomorrow morning?" Mac asked the clerk.

"Depends on how early."

"When is the earliest you can have it delivered?"

"We open shop at 8AM. I can have it delivered by 8:30."

"Fair enough." Mac replied. He scribbled what he wanted on a piece of paper and handed it to the clerk. He then placed a few items on the counter. The clerk eyed the one of them wearily.

"I want everything delivered to Stella Bonasera of the NYPD crime lab by 8:30 tomorrow morning."

"Sir, the police department is unapproachable at the moment."

"Tell him Taylor sent you and you'll be fine."

"Taylor." The clerk murmured. "Wait, you're the one that's hogging up the news."

"I suppose so." Mac gave a shrug. "Can you make this delivery?"

"Yes of course. Would you like to offer any verbal messages?"

"No." Mac gestured at the letter. He pulled out his wallet and paid the clerk. He then exited the shop.

He walked to the end of the block, stopping at the red light when he heard his name being called.

"Mac!"

He looked around but couldn't spot anyone.

"Over here Mac! Across the street!"

Mac looked across the street and found Reed standing on the opposite corner, waiting for the light to change. He was about to wave back when he felt someone step up behind him, a little too close for comfort. He was about to move away when he felt something press against his back.

"Act normal, and no one gets hurt." A male voice spoke quietly in his ear. "Who's the boy?"

Mac was saved from answering the question when the light changed and Reed ran across the street to greet him.

"Hey Mac! So glad I found you. Heard about the news and…"

"I'm fine." Mac replied, trying not to sound as not fine as possible.

"Why did you leave?" Reed demanded.

"I guess it was the right time."

"The right time?"

"I just needed a change. I'm going back to being a marine. My flight leaves tomorrow. My_ buddy_ and I are going out for a drink. I'll catch up with you later alright."

Reed glanced up at the man behind Mac. They stared at each other for a split second before turning his gaze away. The man placed a hand on Mac's shoulder and tried directing him away.

"I'm joining the d1134 Marines." Mac said clearly as he looked directly into Reed's eyes. "Tell Stella so that he'll know where to send those care packages."

"d1134 right?" Reed asked. "I won't forget."

"I'm counting on you." Mac said before once more emphasizing, "_d1134_. It's important that you tell her."

"Come on, let's go." The man nudged Mac. Mac caught Reed's eyes once more before reluctantly allowing the man to push him into the back of a waiting car. Reed watched the car speed away. He checked the time on his watch, decided that it was rather late to bother Stella with this information. After all waiting a few hours to tell Stella where to send care packages wasn't going to hurt anyone at all.

* * *

Here's a little treat for everyone. The chapter began with Reed and it ended with Reed. I bet you all will have lots to say so do say it in a **Review**!


	5. Do I Have Your Attention Now?

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 5 Do I have your attention now?**

The following morning at 9AM sharp, Stella Bonasera stepped out of the elevator and into the crime lab. She had barely taken two steps when Lindsey's hand latched onto her arm and began pulling her towards her office.

"Stella! Finally!" She exclaimed.

"Lindsey? What's wrong?" Stella asked her friend who seemed to be both nervous and excited at the same time. "Lindsey, what is it?" she asked again, awed by Lindsey's strange behavior. Lindsey didn't reply. She hastens her pace and soon they were greeted by Danny, Hawkes, Flack and Sinclair who were all waiting for them in front of Stella's office.

"Did something happen?" Stella asked uneasily, unsure as to why most of the team and the chief would be gathered here.

"Yes and no." Don replied. "You owe me big time Stella."

"What's going on?" Stella asked again. "Don't you all have to be somewhere?"

"The case can wait." Sinclair spoke up, drawing Stella's attention onto him. "But it can only wait so long."

Stella raised an eyebrow. She felt Lindsey's hand give a squeeze of reassurance and then let go. Stella, bewildered by everyone's actions, took a hesitant step forward and then another until she stepped fully into the office. Immediately her breath caught in her throat as she spotted15 yellow roses, an envelop and a box placed on her desk.

"Chief?" Stella asked after finding her voice.

"I took the liberty of signing for the items since you weren't here." Came the explanation. "You won't believe the stir it caused this morning."

Stella slowly walked over to the table, picked up a flower and brought it close to her nose. She was well aware of the numerous eyes who were staring unblinkingly at her every move. Slowly she placed down the flower and picked up the blank envelop.

"15 to apologize" Hawkes volunteered. "and yellow for friendship."

"Did the delivery man say who it's from?" Stella asked, even though she already knew the answer. She just had to hear it to believe it. She needed to hear that after all that had happened it had been Mac who had taken the imitative to apologize. Of course Mac had every reason to apologize, but it still had been a nice surprise to find that he was the first to do it.

"I would think it would be obvious," Danny said. "It's from…" and to the group's surprise, he pulled out a Big Mac from the paper bag that he was carrying.

"Tell me that wasn't delivered." Stella said weakly.

"It wasn't. I just couldn't resist getting it after I discovered the delivery." He paused. "I figured since the Boss apologized and that you accepted the apology, everything is cool now. Time to bring back the humor." Again he paused. "Go on Stella, we're dying to find out what's in the letter and the box."

"Why don't you just call him?" Stella countered. She too felt the tension of the past few days slid slightly now that Mac had made this move. It was touching really to see such a private man take such measures to ask for forgiveness.

"I think I will." Lindsey pulled out her phone and dialed Mac's number.

The group jumped in surprise when they heard Mac's ringtone coming from within the box. Stella immediately grabbed the box and ripped it open. She froze, suddenly feeling the world constrict around her as she stared at the items in the box.

"Stella?" A ring of concern came from her friends.

"Show's over." She said quietly, fighting to hold her tears as she felt her heart break. "Show's over." She repeated, pulling out her gun and Mac's cell from the box. She hesitated then slammed the items onto her desk. With a scoop of her hands, she picked up the flowers, unopened letter and now empty box and shoved them into the garbage can that rested beside her desk.

"It's over." She growled out. "Out!" Not waiting for the others to respond, she stormed pass them, leaving the others standing confused in her office. She grabbed a few empty boxes off a cart and headed into Mac's office, slamming the door behind her. She stood in the middle of the office for a while, staring at the mess in the room. She didn't know how long she stood there until she finally began packing everything in the room into the boxes.

"Not now, I don't want to hear it." Stella said when she heard the door to Mac's office open. "Just leave me alone."

"What do you think you're doing?" Sinclair asked.

"What does it look like? Picking up the pieces to this mess I've created. He's gone for good. I'm not going to let these things haunt me." She said with her back to him.

"I believe he sent an apology…"

"An apology to what?" Stella snapped, turning to Sinclair with anger. "Apology for breaking my heart? Apology for physically and emotionally hurting me? Apology for resigning? Apology for disappearing forever?"

"Stella, I know you're hurt. I'm not asking you to forgive him right away, but I'm asking you to at least hear him out."

"I already did. He'd spoken loud and clear."

Sinclair frowned. The unmarked letter that Stella had thrown away was now in his hands.

"We communicate without words. We never needed them. What you're holding is a Dear John letter. I'm too fragile right now to take another blow from him. If he's decided to move on, then so will I. If you don't believe me, feel free to read it yourself."

An uneasy silence settled between them. Sinclair was obviously not going to read the letter.

"I'm not going to accept this." Sinclair said at last. "I'm not willing to move on. He's my best detective and until he hands in his formal resignation letter, he will remain so. The position remains open. One day he'll come stumbling back. One day he'll realize that this is where he belongs."

* * *

_Hellp_.

Mac mentally slammed his head against the wall for the extra 1 he had given Reed in his hidden message. How the _hell_ was he going to get _help_ now? They say that old habits die hard and it looked like this particular habit was finally going to die hard alongside himself. Ever since 9/11 he had become extremely bias of the word help. Claire had been in _hell_ when she had needed _help_. Reed without knowing the history behind the word would never figure it out. In fact Stella probably wouldn't be able to either, regardless of the amount of distraught he had put her through. The only person who stood a chance of deciphering the message was the chief himself. A bitter smile crossed his lips as he remembered the numerous arguments he had with the chief about the proper way of spelling help in his paperwork. The chief had been extremely annoyed that he had to correct _hellp_ to _help _in every single document that Mac had ever submitted after the terrorist attacks.

_Well at least the chief won't ever have to worry about correcting that anymore. There won't be another argument about hellp again._

That thought caused Mac to once again be aware of his situation. He had been kidnapped right under Reed's nose. He only hoped that Reed was able to successfully pass on the message to Stella and that not only would she be able to discover its hidden meaning but that despite everything that had happened she was still willing to go and rescue him.

_Fat chance Mac. _He thought to himself. _After that Dear John letter you sent her, she'll probably be more then happy to escort you to hell._

Again Mac tugged angrily at the handcuffs that bound his wrists behind the chair. He was blindfolded and tied to a chair in a pitched black room in the middle of who knows where.

_But this is Stella!_ Another voice in his mind protested. _Stella!_ _My partner. The one person I can count on._

_Was your partner_. The first voice in his mind corrected. _The one person you could count on. You drove her away. You hurt her Mac. You hurt her so badly that she has the right to turn a blind eye and leave you to suffer._

_She wouldn't do that._ The second voice again protested. _This is Stella. Stella! She'll rescue me even if its only out of duty. She'll come. She has to._

_She doesn't even know you're here. _The first voice reminded him. _You clearly said so in the letter that you were on a flight to Chicago. You even gave her your Blackberry, making it clear that you wanted to cut all ties to her. _

_Reed. _The second voice argued. _Reed's gone for help. Help will arrive soon. Stella will be here and everything will be alright. _

* * *

Stella sat in Mac's chair, staring unblinkingly out the window. The door was closed, the shades were drawn and the office was now stripped down to its bare walls. She didn't know how long she had been sitting here like this, she only knew that the day wasn't over yet as the sky was still bright blue. A knock sounded from the door but she made no move to acknowledge it. A second later she heard the door open.

"Stella," Lindsey said, stopping short when she noticed the bare walls. "You've been in here for hours. Everyone's worried about you."

"Don't worry about me. Just focus on the case. I'll be better once I come to terms with having to live the rest of my life without Mac by my side, even if we were _just_ _friends_."

"Oh Stella," Lindsey said softly. "Don't think like that. The two of you just need to have some time away from each other. One day he'll wake up, realize his mistake and come crawling back to you."

Stella scoffed at that.

"It's true Stella." Lindsey insisted.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up Lindsey, but that's not going to happen. He's gone. He's left."

"For now."

"Forever." Stella let out a sigh, turning to face her friend. "Reed called. He said he bumped into Mac last night. Mac told him that he was going to join the Marines. Reed was going to tell me the specific branch but I had told him I didn't need to know. It's not like I'll be visiting him or that I would be sending him care packages."

"Go find out."

"Why? I told you, I'm not going to…"

"I want it okay. You don't have to send anything if you don't want to. I'll like to send him little reminders. Give him a reason to live, to fight, to come back home."

"You'll be wasting your time." Stella said automatically.

"He's Lucy's godfather. I'll be damned if I let such an amazing man walk out of her life." Lindsey shot back. "Seriously Stella, how can you even think of letting him go? You're supposed to be his reason to live for, to fight for, and to return home to. He needs your unconditional love and support now more then ever."

"I'm not Claire!" Stella shouted in anger, jumping to her feet. "I can't…"

"Stella, I'm not here to cause another fight." Lindsey interrupted. She raised her hands in defense. "Just get me the information Stella. It's your business if you still want to stay in touch with him and my business if I want to stay in touch."

* * *

Time seemed to stand still for Mac. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. The only thing he felt besides the aching pain in his body was the chair that he was sitting on.

_Stella. Where are you? I need you._

Again Mac tried to free himself from his binds. He swore loudly when he found that he was still unable to do so.

"Don't fret Taylor," A male voice spoke up, interrupting the eerier silence that had descended around Mac. Mac nearly toppled over trying to spin around to face the direction of where the voice had come from.

"Who are you?" Mac demanded. "What do you want from me?"

"You know I can't answer your first question detective." The male voice replied, growing louder as he stepped closer to Mac. In one fluid movement the blindfold was removed from Mac's eyes.

"Smile Taylor, you're on camera."

* * *

"d1134." Stella said, interrupting Lindsey and Sinclair's conversation. After being holed up in Mac's office for another two hours, her shift was finally over and so she decided to leave the office as quickly as possible.

"What?" Lindsey asked, confused.

"d1134." Stella repeated. "You wanted to know where to send those care packages?" She handed a piece of post it with the numbers written on it to Lindsey.

"Oh yes of course. Thanks Stella." Lindsey said. "And sorry for making you upset earlier, I…"

Lindsey trailed off when Sinclair suddenly pulled the post it from her hand. He turned to Stella, shoving the post it in front of her eyes so that she was staring at her own numbers which were now upset down.

"From Mac?"

"Yeah, the specific location to send care packages to him when he's serving at the Marines. Reed said…"

"Who's Reed?"

"Claire's boy. What's…"

"When did you talk to him?" The chief demanded with a hint on desperation in his voice. "When did he last talk to Mac?"

"Talked to Reed five minutes ago. He spoke to Mac when he saw him last night."

The chief swore loudly.

"Something wrong?" Stella questioned at the chief's strange behavior.

"Help." Sinclair replied, walking quickly towards Adam. " d1134 read upside down is H-e-l-l-p, help."

"Help has only one l." Stella corrected.

"Except when it comes to Taylor. He's been driving me crazy purposely misspelling the word. It started after 9/11…"

Stella tuned out the chief's words. Mac was in danger and she hadn't even been able to spot it. So much for priding herself with being able to mentally communicate with her partner.

"I'm on it Chief." Adam's voice brought Stella back to the present.

"Good. While Adam's trying to track down the exact time and day Mac bought this morning's delivery, I want you to call Reed. Tell him to come here immediately." Sinclair said to Stella.

"Wouldn't it be faster if Danny and I just paid the store a visit?" Lindsey asked.

Sinclair glanced at his watch.

"They'll be closed by this hour."

"Chief, Stella?" Danny's voice interrupted them. They turn to see Danny beckoning them towards the break room. "I think you should see this."

"Not now Messer." Sinclair growled. "Get back to work, Taylor's…"

"Mac's on TV." Danny whispered.

"What?" Sinclair and Stella asked as one. Since the two were closer to Mac's office, they decided to go there instead. Sinclair strolled over to the TV and turned it on, freezing at what he saw. Stella immediately felt her world crash around her.

Mac Taylor was sitting in the middle of a bare room, tied down to a chair with blood stains all over his dress shirt and pants. A person of medium build with a paper bag over his or her head was cutting Mac's chest with an irregular looking knife.

"Mac!" Stella squeaked, horrified at the sight before her. "Oh my God."

Sinclair forced himself to walk out of Mac's office.

"Turn on every damn TV there is. I want both Messers, Ross and Hawkes in here now." Sinclair demanded. "Those whose last name runs from A-M, I want your eyes glued to the TV. Everyone else I want you to find where the TV signal is being broadcast from. Also make sure this gets recorded. No one's going to be taking another break until Mac's back. If anyone finds anything, tell me immediately, otherwise do not bother us. I shall give further instructions after this broadcast is over."

He walked back into the room followed closely by the rest of Mac's team.

"…king news, live from New York City." Mac's captor ran his knife once more against Mac's chest before turning to face the camera. The paper bag head temporary blocking the viewers of Mac.

"Do I have your attention now, Chief?" The paper bag person sneered. "For the last few hours I have taken great lengths to increase the terror in this city yet this rouge officer still has received much more media time coverage then I have. Not anymore. The attacks will continue until my demands have been met."

Mac came into view as the captor began cutting again. With each word he spoke, he slashed his knife onto Mac's chest. With each slash, Mac let out a painful grunt.

"The NYPD has 72 hours to meet my demands. If you don't succeed I swear that not only will Taylor be dead but that I'll unleash such havoc among the city that it'll make 9/11 look like child's play."

And then the TV buzzed, becoming static before changing to a commercial on COPD. Sinclair turned off the TV and turned to the group.

"What's that?" Sinclair asked, nodding his head toward the Greek words that Stella had written on a notepad. Stella didn't reply. She merely stared at the paper, tears running non stop and her body was shaking.

"Stella?"

"Mac never verbalizes pain, let alone when he's captured." Stella said softly. "He was trying to relay a message in Greek."

"Son" as she spoke she pointed to each word. "last, see."

She went down to the next line.

"taken, board, way, five"

And then she moved onto the last row of words.

"Sorry, forgive, please, not, hurt, you, purpose."

Just as Stella finished saying the last word, the phone in Mac's office began to ring. Stella immediately reached for it, pressing the record button and then the speaker phone.

"Good evening detectives." The voice of Mac's captor greeted. "I merely wanted to point out that what you have just viewed had been pre-recorded. You no longer, I repeat, you no longer have 72 hours to meet my demands."

"What are your demands?" Sinclair demanded.

"I have already told you chief. If you cannot fulfill my demands by then, then your rouge detective will die and the rest of you will be condemned to live in hell."

"and how would I know Taylor's still alive?" The chief asked. "For all I know he could have bled to death."

"Oh he's here." The voice said. "Talk Taylor, here's your chance to say any final words."

For the next few seconds silence greeted the detectives.

"Mac?" Stella spoke up. "I know you're there. I can understand why you're not speaking. I just wanted to let you know that I'm coming for you. We're coming for you. Hang in there Mac." Stella paused and then spoke again. "I love you."

"Love you more, Stell." Mac acknowledged, just as the phone line went dead.

* * *

Hopefully I've caught your attention. Do remember to **Review**!


	6. Where are you?

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 6 Where are you?**

Half an hour later the chief found that he had no choice but to deal with the public. Apparently the footage of Mac being held hostage had aired throughout New York in time for the 6 o'clock news.

"I've got to make sure the station doesn't get mobbed." Sinclair said at last after being called by the billionth time from those police officers who were downstairs trying to keep both the media and the public in general behind the barricades that had been set up to around the New York Police department.

"Good luck." Danny acknowledge. "Try to come back alive chief."

Sinclair looked like he was going to snap at Danny for the comment but then thought better of if. The others watch him disappear from view before getting back to the case.

"Were you able to trace when Mac placed the order for this morning's package?" Stella asked, turning to Adam. "Mac already said the last person he saw was Reed and the place where he was taken was on the corner of Broadway and Fifth. We need to narrow the time frame."

"The transaction went through last night at 5:37PM." Adam replied, his eyes remained glued to the computer. "Now I've checked the location of the store and compared the distance to Broadway and Fifth, the location where Mac says he was last at. I've found that the two locations are less then half a block away. Even without Reed's confirmation, I can fairly say that he was kidnapped a short time after he had placed the order. Perhaps he was kidnapped while waiting for a taxi to take him to the airport. Or perhaps he was kidnapped by the one who was driving the taxi. We'll have to wait for Reed for the specific details."

"Airport?" Stella asked, not hearing the rest of what Adam said after he had said that word. She spun Adam's chair around so that the two were looking eye to eye.

"While I was checking his credit card purchases, I noticed he purchased a one way flight to Chicago that was suppose to depart early this morning. I assume that since he knows he'll probably get cornered at his apartment, he decided to head directly to the airport instead. Of course, as we all know, he never made it."

"Chicago." Stella said the word slowly, her brain still having trouble catching up to the present.

"I'm guessing he never told you."Adam stated softly. Stella didn't reply. Her eyes traveled to the unopened letter that Mac had sent earlier today and was now lying on his desk. She suddenly grabbed the unopened letter, ripped it open and began to read, her heart tightening in pain as she forced herself to read the first line.

_Stella,_

_By the time you read this letter, I will be on a flight to Chicago…_

"He did." Stella sighed in frustration. "And if I had opened this damn letter sooner, I probably would have realized Mac was in danger. He's been suffering so long, remained hostage for so long because of me."

"Stella, this isn't your fault." Lindsey tried to sooth her friend.

"Yes it is! If I've known Mac decided to fly to Chicago, I would have booked myself a ticket for the next available flight. For God's sake he flew half way across the world to bring me home, the least I could have done is fly a few states to find him. I would have done everything to track him down. If I've done that then I would have known he never made it on the flight and would have eventually figured out he was in danger. Mac had to suffer because of me. He's suffering now because of me."

* * *

The moment he stepped out of the NYPD building and onto the street, Sinclair was immediately bombarded by questions from all direction.

"Stevenson!" he barked at one of the officers trying to keep order. "Have the barricades moved another 100 feet from the building. I don't want anyone who is not a police officer anywhere near here."

"Yes Chief." Stevenson replied, quickly relaying the chief's message to the other officers who were trying to keep order. Sinclair stood in the middle of the chaos as he watched the officers forcefully move the barricades further away from the building. He did his best to tune out the numerous questions that were being directed at him.

"Let me through!" A voice caught Sinclair's attention. Unlike the others who were trying to make him answer questions, this person actually wanted to break his way through the barricades. He turned to look in the direction of the voice and found a 20 something year old man struggling against two officers.

"Let me through!" The curly haired, tear stricken, emotionally charged man screamed. "That's my dad on TV!"

Hearing this, Sinclair made his way to the commotion.

"Taylor doesn't have children." One of the officers holding him back retorted.

"Stepson!" The young man screamed. "Get Stella Bonasera, she'll confirm it!"

"Reed Garrett?" Sinclair interrupted.

"Yes!" Reed replied hotly, still struggling against the officers who were holding him back. "I'm…"

"Mac's boy?" Sinclair asked.

Reed nodded vigorously, confused by Sinclair's use of words. Usually those at the police department who knew about his relationship with Mac would refer to him as Claire's boy.

"Let him through." Sinclair ordered. The officers holding Reed let him go and then let him through the barricade.

"The team's in his office." Sinclair told Reed who nodded his thanks. Sinclair watched him go before turning his attention back to the media frowning at the sudden change of questions.

"Since when does Taylor have a child?"

"Who's the young man?"

"Who's the mother? Is she Detective Bonasera?"

_Oh great._ Sinclair thought to himself. _Even when the entire city's falling apart all these people care about is gossip and rumors and anything but real news. _

"No comment."

* * *

"That's not true Stella. Mac wouldn't blame you…"

The door to Mac's office banged open. As one the grouped turned to see who had so rudely interrupted them.

"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." An extremely distraught Reed collapsed onto Mac's couch. "He was counting on me. He said it was important. I let him down! I let my own dad get kidnapped!"

In an instant Stella found herself on her knees in front of Reed with her hands wrapped tightly around him.

"Oh Reed, this isn't your fault." She tried to sooth him. "There's nothing you could have done to stop this."

"I was there! I should have realized what was going on!" Reed protested. "I could have, should have done something, anything."

"And if you did, you would probably be in the same situation that Mac's in. Mac was trying to protect you just as much as he was trying to relay his message." Stella tried to console Reed. "I'm sure Mac's thanking God right now for sparing you from the hell that he's currently facing."

"But…"

"Trust me Reed. Mac and I have been partners for over a decade now. It's safe to say that most of the time I know him better then he knows himself." Stella swallows hard and her voice begins to break as she continues to speak. "If…if…he…dies…dies from this…at..least…"

"Stella! Don't think that way!" Hawkes scolded.

"But those cuts, oh God, those cuts…"

"Cuts will heal." Daddy corrected. "He'll be better before I even get out of this chair."

"But…"

"No buts." Lindsey cut her off.

Stella took in a deep breath and then turned back to Reed. She knew her friends were right, but the image of Mac being sliced just wouldn't leave her, just wouldn't allow her to stay positive.

"What I'm trying to say is Mac's…"

"I know." Reed interrupted. "I know Stella. I just feel responsible."

"So do I. I know how helpless you feel Reed because I feel the same way. I'm…"

"I'm sorry Stella." Reed finally pulled away from Stella's embrace. He was now visibly less shaken then before. "I'm just so sorry."

"Don't be. This isn't your fault. This isn't your fault. I'm just going to say that as many times as possible until it sinks in."

"Thanks mom." Reed said with a weak smile. The smile disappeared when he realized what he had just said.

"Reed…" Stella began.

"I mean Stella. I'm sorry, I didn't mean. It just slipped out. I…"

"Reed…"

"I just never had anyone who…The Garrett's are nice but they…"

"Reed." Stella gently reached out and cupped Reed's face in her hands, forcing him to look directly into her eyes. "You don't have to explain yourself. I'm honored that you think of me that way." She paused as thought of what to say next. "We'll discuss this later okay? In the meantime let's rescue your dad. He'll kill me if he gets left out of such an important family bonding moment."

Reed let out a smile at Stella's choice of words.

"So son, are you ready to help find dad?" Stella asked, removing her gentle touch from Reed's face.

"Anything. I'll do anything to help.

"Lets start what time you encountered Mac and what happened. Every detail counts."

* * *

_I love you. I'm coming for you. Hang in there Mac._

Stella's words echoed continuously in his brain, over and over again like a broken cassette player that was stuck on repeat. It was all that he held left, all the hope he could clutch onto as he waited to be rescued. He was once again back in solitude and has been since his captor had made the phone call to the police department 4 hours ago. Yes he knew that it had been exactly 4 hours because of the digital clock that had been placed directly in front of him. The numbers were glowing an eerie red as it provided the only light source in the otherwise pitched black room.

_Really?_ The first voice who had been causing doubt to form in his brain spoke up suddenly. _Are you sure you didn't imagine it?_

_Yes I'm sure! _ The second voice defended. _I heard it with my own ears. She told me to hang on, that she's coming for me, that she love's me._

_She doesn't love you. _The first voice taunted. _Who in their right minds would love someone who hurt them as much as you've hurt her? She's not coming Taylor. Just give up. There's nothing to hang onto. You've got nothing left._

_Stella's coming. _The second voice protested. _She's coming._

_She's not coming. She would have rescued you by now if she really wanted to rescue you. You know how efficient she is when it comes to work. This case would have been solved already if she really put her heart to it._

_No! She just doesn't have enough information and so that is why its taking her so long. You were stumped too by your captor. You're still stumped by your captor. I believe in Stella. I believe that she'll come for me. _

_She's not coming._ The first voice repeated. _She left you to die._ _Trust me._

_I trust Stella. If I can't trust her, then who can I trust._

_No one Taylor. You can trust no one._

_I trust Stella. She made a promise, she'll…._ The second voice tried to reason.

_You broke your promise, what makes you think she won't break hers._

_I just know. I just know! She's not me. She's Stella. She's…_

_Not coming. She doesn't love you. There's no reason to hang onto life._

_Yes there is!_ The second voice said stubbornly. _Stella's coming. Just watch. She'll be here. Stella will come. She'll save me like she always does._

* * *

Reed felt someone shake his shoulder.

"Reed, wake up. We think we finally found a break in the case."

Reed sat up slowly, rubbing his tired eyes. He glanced at the clock on the wall which read 1:25AM before turning his attention onto the Chief and Mac's team.

"What is it? What did you find?"

"Can you describe the car that Mac was forced into again?" Adam asked. "And also how the suspect looks like?"

"Grey, Toyota Matrix. The last three digits of the license plate was 705. It also has a Obama sticker on the bottom right hand side of the bumper" Reed said. "He looks around 50. He's medium build with bleach blond hair, grey eyes and has facial hair that looks like you." He nodded at Adam.

"Like this?" Adam asked, handing Reed two photos, one photo of the car in question and one photo of a man who matched Reed's description.

"Yes!" Reed exclaimed, jumping out of his couch. "That's him alright and that's the car."

Sinclair immediately pulled out his cell and began dialing a number, stepping out of Mac's office to make the call.

"Brian Jacobson" Danny read from the computer. "Age 47. He's got a lengthy rap sheet with the usual. Just finished serving a 20 year sentence for first degree murder of a 12 year old boy. I don't know the specifics but Stella tells me he's one of the people that Flack Sr. put away."

"Revenge, how sweet." Reed said bitterly. "So someone's bringing him in right now?"

"The Chicago police department is out searching as we speak." Danny replied.

"wait what?" Reed ask confused.

"Apparently this case made national news. For once it is a good thing that it did. One of the offices in Chicago found a vehicle matching your description and gave us a call…"

"They're in Chicago?" Reed asked in disbelief. "But that's almost 800 miles away. That's impossible!"

"789 miles to be exact." Hawkes cut in. "If Jacobson was driving a 100 miles and hour, he'll have reached his destination by 1 or 2 AM."

"But he would have been caught in New York traffic." Reed protested. "and if he was able to drive this quickly, surely he would have been stopped for speeding."

"Once you get out of New York and once you hit a certain hour of the day, the freeway is going to be empty." Lindsey explained.

"Besides wouldn't Mac have been able to free himself and fight back during the ride?"

"Not if he was knocked out cold." Stella reminded him just as Sinclair stepped back into the room with Flack.

"Stella, Reed, and Adam, will be joining Flack and I on the next flight to Chicago which is in two hours. I expect the rest of you to process any vital information that we may discover."

Danny looked like he was going to protest but a stern look from Sinclair made him keep his mouth shut.

"Don't argue Messer. First you are unsuited to be doing field service and second you are a father."

"I just hate feeling so useless." Danny murmured. "and I hate waiting.

"Go find out when that recording was made. I need to know exactly when 72 hours are up." Sinclair said. "Let me know as soon as you can."

"Shouldn't we just count72 hours since the time Mac was kidnapped just to be safe." Reed asked.

"Good point." Sinclair replied. "That would mean roughly 32 hours have gone by since Mac's been kidnapped. We still have 40 hours left. Actually if we count 2 more hours for the wait for flight time and another 3 hours for the actual flight time, we only have 35 hours to rescue Mac. 35 hours which is a little less then a day and a half. It's almost 2 AM now. We'll be in Chicago by 6AM. Thank god for day lights saving time and the extra hour we will be gaining."

* * *

_I told you so_. _I told you so. I told you so._ Voice 1 taunted Mac with glee.

_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're wrong. You're wrong! You're wrong. _But even as the second voice said those words, the voice itself was fading.

_6AM Taylor. It's been 12 hours since you've been on TV and you're still here._

_It doesn't matter. Stella's coming. She'll be here soon. She told me to hang on, and that's what I'll do._

_For how much longer?_ The first voice questioned. _He's killing you each time he comes in to offer you a bathroom break. He's slicing you till you're nearly unconscious before he even allows you to…_

_Forever! _The second voice interrupted. _I'm not letting go, not now, not ever, especially not when Stella finally confessed that she loves me. What I've always wanted is finally coming true. I'm not going to give up now. She said she's coming and so she will. _

_She was desperate and when she's desperate, she does reckless things. Remember the last time she was desperate? She slept with another man. _The first voice reminded him.

_This is different! _The second voice defended. _I believe in Stella. She said she's coming._

_Where is she?_

_She's coming!_

_Where is she?_

_She's coming!_

_No she's not!_

_Yes she is!_

_No she's not!_

_Yes she is!_

_She's not coming because she doesn't love you! You're not worth saving! _

_Yes I am. _

_No you're not. _

_Yes I am._

Mac shut his eyes at his last thought, trying his best to settle the war that was being waged in his head.

"Oh Stella, where are you?" He whispered to the darkness. "Please hurry. I don't think I can hold on any longer…."

* * *

At last the villain gets a name and a face. More on him in the near future. As always I enjoy having your feedback so do remember to **Review**!


	7. Next Door Neighbor

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 7 Next Door Neighbor**

"Chief Sinclair of the NYPD?" A blond women hurried toward their group as they waited for a Taxi outside of the Chicago airport.

"That's me." Sinclair took a step in front of his newly assembled team.

"Detective Davis of the Chicago PD." She flashed her badge in one hand and stretched out her other hand which Sinclair shook it with a firm grip. "I'm in charge of this case. The Chief has already notified me of the special circumstances regarding your situation. As the case is now under Chicago jurisdiction, you are all expected to cooperate with the Chicago police department which means disclosing any and all information as well as listening and obeying all orders and protocol of the Chicago police department." She looked directly into Sinclair's eyes before continuing. "Any orders you give will be taken as advice and so it may or may not be obeyed by the members of law enforcement in this city. If you feel that you are unable to comply then the Chief has kindly ask you to leave as your personal emotions may cloud you from your best judgment. If this kidnapping turns into a hostage situation, then your interference may very well cost Taylor his life."

"If this escalates to a hostage situation then all protocol be damned." Sinclair said firmly. "I can and will guarantee you now that my team and I do anything in our ability to make sure Mac Taylor comes back alive even if it means bending rules. Two of NYPD's finest were taken from us within a month of each other, I'm not letting this one go without putting on one hell of a fight."

"Then it's best that you and your team return to New York now." Davis replied without hesitation. "The Chief assures you that the Chicago PD will find Detective Taylor…"

"Not good enough." Sinclair cut in. "A dead body's going to do us little good. We're not leaving till _my_ team finds and rescues Mac. Taylor's going back home alive."

"Your judgment has already been clouded Chief. You'll only get everyone killed. It's best that you and…"

"We're merely talking hypothetical." Stella cut in, squeezing in between Davis and Sinclair. "We're still dealing with a kidnapping and not a hostage situation yet. What my chief is saying is that _if_ this was a hostage situation that he wouldn't be able to guarantee anything."

"Stella…" The Chief tried to interrupt, but Stella continued anyway.

"Since this is not a hostage situation, we can guarantee you now that will cooperate with the Chicago PD. And until it turns into one, you and your police department has no right with kicking us out."

"Well _Stella_" Davis drawled. "Don't get too comfortable here. You'll be back in New York even before this case closes. This will turn into a hostage situation sooner or later."

"I'll take my chances. Now where did you find Jacobson's Matrix and where is the Matrix now." Stella asked with a glare. "And where's Jacobson's current address?"

"The Matrix is in police custody. I can give you the other information once we get back to the police department." Davis said. "I've got two squad cars to bring us there. Let me just verify your ID's just as a precaution. License and badge please."

Reluctantly the group did as they were told.

"You're not an officer Mr. Garrett. You won't be able to be involved with this case."

"But I'm Mac's son!" Reed protested. "That's my dad…"

"Don't know what you do in New York but this is Chicago policy."

"He's the last person to see Mac. He's vital to providing details and verifications to this case." The Chief clarified.

"Chicago policy. If you don't like it, you can leave." Davis said.

"Fine!" Stella grounded out. "I'll babysit him for the time being. The rest of you can get the information and start working on it. If you still haven't found Mac by noon, we can meet up again and then proceed from there."

"This is ridicules Stella and you know it." Sinclair said angrily.

"Don't argue with me Chief. We're wasting time."

"Fine." The chief said reluctantly. "C'mon, let's go." He nodded to Davis and she led them away. Stella watched them go before pulling out her phone.

"Messer."

"Danny," it's me Stella."

"Everything okay?"

"Slight change of plans. The Chicago PD's giving us crap."

"Need us to fly down there?"

"No."

"Let us know if you need more manpower."

"I will. For now I need you to get Mac's cell and text me his mother's number." She paused. "While you're add it, text me an address too."

"Got it."

"Thanks Danny."

Stella hung up her phone and waited for the text. In the meantime she waived for a taxi.

"Where to?" The taxi driver asked as Stella motioned for Reed to get in. She then sat down next to him just as her phone buzzed to life. She gave the driver the address and then settled in for the ride.

"I don't need to be babysat." Reed said as the taxi began to drive away from the airport. "I can take care of myself. Mac needs you."

"I want to. Mac's in good hands."

"Yeah, sure he is." Reed said sarcastically. "He's been kid.."

"Reed, please…." Stella said uncomfortably. "Not now."

"Sorry."

"There's more then enough people working on this case right now. Realistically speaking one more person isn't going to make a whole lot of difference. Besides, you are a civilian and I don't want to put you in further danger especially since Mac did everything he could to keep you away from it."

"But.."

"Reed, drop it." Stella said sternly.

"So we're going to stay with Mac's mom?" Reed asked changing the subject.

"Safer and cheaper." Stella shrugged.

"So what's she like?"

"The times Mac's talked about her, she sounded quite lovely."

"But what do you think about your potential mother-in-law?"

Stella turned to look at Reed.

"You really believe Mac and I are going to get married?"

"Yeah"

"And it doesn't bother you."

"No. I wouldn't be here if it did."

"Thanks Reed. Hope Mrs. Taylor thinks the same." Stella murmured to herself.

"Wait." Reed said. "You mean to tell me you've never met her?"

"Never. Ever since Mac moved to New York to settle down with Claire, he's only been back home once, and that was when he was chasing his 333 stalker. Over the years Mrs. Taylor sent plenty of care packages to Mac but she never visited him there. The two of them are close but Mrs. Taylor and I are strangers. I've never had the reason to meet her other then being Mac's best friend and that isn't much of a reason so we never did meet. Besides there's Claire and there always will be Claire. I'm not sure how Mrs. Taylor will take it if Mac came home and…well what I'm trying to say is that it's complicated."

"Wonderful." Reed muttered more to himself then to Stella. "Hopefully Mrs. Taylor doesn't die from a heart attack when she opens her door and finds two strangers, one her son's new fiancé and the other one her daughter-in-law's son from a previous relationship. And if that doesn't kill her, news of dad's kidnap probably will."

"I'm sure she's already heard about what happened." Stella corrected just as the taxi driver pulled up to the curb in front of Mrs. Taylor's house. "This case did make national news."

"For better or worst." Reed said getting out of the taxi. He waited on the curb as Stella paid for the ride. "Do you think this is a good idea?"

"No use turning back. We're already here." Stella said walking quickly up the steps that led to the house with Reed following closely behind her.

"Mrs. Taylor?" Stella called out as she knocked on the door. "Mrs. Taylor?"

The door flew opened and they were greeted by an old lady with a tear stricken face.

"Hi Mrs. Taylor, I'm…."

"Stella." Mac's mom interrupted. She took a step forward and then collapsed into Stella's arms. "Yes, you're Stella, my future daughter in law. Stella, oh Stella, why him? Why McCanna? Why did he have to take my baby boy away from me?"

"We'll find him Mrs. Taylor. I swear to you that Mac will make it out of this alive." Stella tried to assure the elder women.

Mrs. Taylor pulled away from Stella.

"McCanna's alive?" Mrs. Taylor asked hesitantly.

"Dad's alive." Reed cut in. "Stella spoke with him on the phone. He managed to tell her he loved her." He paused. "That was only an hour ago."

Mrs. Taylor turned her attention onto Reed for the first time. Reed tried his best to offer her a warm smile.

"You must be Claire's boy. Reed Garrett?"

"Yes, that's me."

"McCanna speaks highly of you. He's proud to call you his son." Mrs. Taylor said. "He told me everything about you. How he was worried that you'll leave after finding out about Claire. When you were in the hospital, he was frantic to see you complaining about…" She seemed to catch herself, suddenly realizing this wasn't the time to speak of this.

"Is it true?" Mrs. Taylor turned her attention back to Stella. "You've spoke with McCanna an hour ago?"

Stella glanced over at Reed who was nodding his head vigorously. She didn't want to lie, but the hopeful expression that Mrs. Taylor was giving her made her not want to break the fragile women's heart by telling her the truth. Slowly she followed Reed's example and nodded her head. The smile that she was rewarded with made her feel slightly better. Mrs. Taylor took a moment to compose herself and then ushered them inside.

"So sorry for breaking down Stella," Mrs. Taylor waived for them to sit on the couch in the living room which had numerous photos of Mac and Claire, Mac and Stella and even one of Mac and Reed all scattered about the room. "I saw the news and practically had a heart attack. I've been trying to reach the NYPD since I saw McCanna on television. I wasn't able to get through and I had assumed the NYPD was screening calls and no one was ready to speak with me. When you arrived Stella, I thought the worst." She paused as she took a deep breath. "I come from a family and married into a family dedicated to serving the country and well that's how they do things there. They send the closest person to deliver the message and…."

"Mac's alive and we will rescue him. That's all that matters. I'll make sure he pays you a visit before we return to New York." Stella interrupted. "He might be a little beat up, but I'm sure its nothing that time can't heal."

"Who needs time when he's got _you_? You're good for him Stella. I told him he was an idiot when he first called and told me he quit his job and is leaving New York for good."

"He's not going anywhere." Stella said firmly. "I refuse to let him go."

"McCanna is lucky to have you in his life Stella. I just hope he realizes…"

Stella's cell suddenly buzzed to life. She gave an apologized smile and then tended to the text message. She let out a frustrated ethnic curse when she read the text.

"Sinclair's just pissed off Davis again." Stella explained. "I better go clear things up before we all get shipped back to New York."

"Sinclair? McCanna's boss?"

"That's the one."

"What's he doing here in Chicago? Actually now that I think about it, what are the two of you doing in Chicago? Shouldn't you be trying to find McCanna?"

"We have strong evidence to believe that Mac and his captor are now in Chicago. We've found the vehicle used to commit the crime here in Chicago."Stella paused. "The police here are just making our job difficult. They should be glad that _I'm_ not the one…"

"You and your entire team are welcome to set base here." Mrs. Taylor interrupted.

"No. That wouldn't be right." Stella protested.

"Please Stella." Mrs. Taylor protest. "That's my son out there…"

"I'm sorry." Stella said sadly.

"Don't argue mom." Reed interrupted. "We're wasting time. Besides you yourself said it's safer here and we are dealing with sensitive information."

"I suppose you're right." Stella stood up. "I'll be right back."

She walked out of the front door and stood on the front steps. When she was sure the door was closed firmly behind her did she pull out her cell and dial the chief's number.

"Sinclair."

"Hey chief, Flack said you pissed…"

"She deserved it Bonasera." The chief grounded out. "And no you do not need to come and sort anything out. I'm merely flexing my muscles and watching our back."

"Believe me chief, I'm not complaining." Stella assured him. "If you need a breather you know where to find me."

There was silence and then Sinclair spoke up again.

"Don't tell me Stella that you're at…"

"She offered us a base."

"Damn it Stella! What were you thinking getting Taylor's mother involved?" Sinclair demanded.

"Personal issues, but one thing led to the next and…"

"She doesn't need to…"

"She already knows the situation. This case did make national television."

Again there was silence.

"How is she?" Sinclair asked at last.

"Holding up as best she could given the circumstances. She's just like Reed, chief. She needs to feel useful otherwise…"

"I'll get the others. We'll be there soon." The chief promised.

"And chief, don't come bearing gifts."

* * *

Brian Jacobson was angry. He couldn't believe how quickly the police were already on his tail. And he was sure they were on his tail as his Matrix was nowhere to be found. He now doubted himself for making the TV broadcast as his little video had quickly made national news which also probably meant that other police departments in the nation was keeping an eye our for him. Checking his watch, he noticed that it was already noon which meant that he still had 29 more hours before he could execute Taylor and then unleash his next level of terror onto New York city, that is _if_ his demands were not met. But he already knew his demands would never be met because he never made them. Jacobson had sworn that Mac was going to die the moment he stole Jacobson's coverage time away from him. He just couldn't understand how the resignation of a cop would take priority over the escalation destruction. So from that moment on, he had decided to kill Taylor before going back to his original plan of seeking vengeance for his long term stay in New York's prison.

_29 more hours to go. What shall I do in the mean time? _Jacobson frowned as he tried to answer the question. _I suppose I can give another potty break for Taylor._

A sickening smile spread across his lips as he thought about taking Taylor to the bathroom. He pulled out his irregular shaped knife and headed down towards the basement

* * *

"Come in, come in." Mrs. Taylor said as she stepped aside and let the rest of the NYPD team into her home.

"Sorry for the intrusion Ma'am." Sinclair said stepping into the house that Mac had grew up in with the others following close behind. "We'll be out of here in no time."

"Not an intrusion at all." Mrs. Taylor corrected. "You've come a long way to save McCanna, it's the least I can do…"

"I'm deeply sorry about…"

"No need to apologize, Chief." Mrs. Taylor corrected. "McCanna's always been a magnet for trouble. I know my son hasn't been easy to deal with lately but what matters is that despite everything, you're all here now to save him."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else." The chief said sincerely. "I know he'll do the same for any one of us if…"

"I know he resigned. You're no longer obligated by duty to…"

"Despite what might be believed by others, Mac and I are first and foremost _friends_." The chief interrupted. "And who said he resigned. To my knowledge he _never_ submitted any resignation letter."

"Thank you Chief. I…"

"I hate to interrupt." Adam cut in, slightly embarrassed as all eyes turned toward him. "But Mac still needs to be rescued and we're…"

"No worries. Why don't you all take a seat and I'll bring you all some tea."

Before anyone could protest about not needing any tea, Mrs. Taylor was already gone. The team members who were still standing joined Stella and Reed on the couch.

"So what do we have?" Stella asked.

"Flack and I check Jacobson's address and found nothing substantial that would link him to kidnap." Sinclair said.

"and I didn't find anything unusual about the Matrix. It's got Jacobson' prints all over it, but that's to be expected as it is his car."

"Damn it. There must be something."

"Dad did always claim that Jacobson was a professional." Flack said slowly. "The thing that put him away was an unpaid speeding ticket. It was utter chance that when he came down to the station, one of the children whom he had orphaned was down at the station waiting for child protective services and was able to ID him. Jacobson was then held in custody and from that point on, more and more unsolved cases became solved as they matched Jacobson as the offender."

"At this rate, we'll never catch him." Reed said miserably. We need another fluke encounter…"

"Miracles do happen, young man." Mrs. Taylor said, coming back in with a tray of tea.

"I know. I lived through one." Reed murmured, thinking about his incident with the taxi killer. "Just hope dad gets one too."

"Considering the amount of trouble he attracts, McCanna's living proof that miracles do and will happen."

"I know you're right. He survived Beirut, he'll survive Brian Jacobson."

"Brian Jacobson?" Mrs. Taylor echoed, "as in Brian Terrance Jacobson?"

Sinclair's eyes immediately landed on Mrs. Taylor. He was sitting on the edge of his seat as he leaned closer to her.

"As a matter of fact, yes we are. What do you know about him?"

"He's my next door neighbor."

"What?"

* * *

So what do you think about this chapter? Here is an introduction to both Mrs. Taylor and the Chicago police. Mrs. Taylor's revelation of Jacobson's whereabouts will be explained later as to why it doesn't match the records that the Chicago PD have on file. Do remember to **Review**!


	8. Teamwork

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 8 Teamwork**

"Brian Terrance Jacobson, he lives next door." Mrs. Taylor repeated. "Are you telling me that B.T. has McCanna, that my poor boy's suffering next door and that I didn't even…" She was interrupted when Stella abruptly sprung to her feet.

"Is the house to the left or right of this one?" Stella asked, pulling out her gun.

"Left…" Mrs. Taylor replied just as Stella ran toward the door. However before she could open the door, a pair of hands grabbed her wrist from behind. Unable to free herself from the iron grip and desperate to rescue Mac immediately, she made the split second decision to twist around and point the gun at whoever it was that was keeping her still.

"Whoa, Stella, easy." Adam said surprised to find himself being held at gun point.

"Let go Ross."

"No. I am not going to let you…."

"Bonasera, weapon down." The chief interrupted, jumping to his feet. "Now."

"Chief…" Stella protested.

"Weapon. Down. Now. That's a direct order from your superior."

"Let go Ross." Stella ignored Sinclair. "Why are you trying to stop me anyway? We know where Mac is, _I_ can barge in and…"

"Get yourself killed." Adam finished her sentence. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you die knowing that I could have done something to prevent it."

"It's called back up." Stella said. "If the situation was reversed, Mac wouldn't hesitate…"

"If the situation was reversed I know that you wouldn't be happy if Mac was injured or killed in the process. What makes you think he'll be happy if you were injured or killed?" Adam tried to reason. "Believe me, he'll be furious and if he was able to tell you then he would do so himself. Since he's currently unable to do so, then let me do that. Let me be that rock that keeps you grounded in reason and order. Look, I'm not trying to replace Mac or anything even if you might think otherwise. I care about you.."

"Enough." Stella's finger moved to the trigger. "You're the reason why…"

"as a _friend_. I'm not "going to let my friend run blindly into danger." Adam said quickly, not letting Stella finish her sentence. He shifted his gaze to the others in the room and then landed back on Stella. "None of us are going to let you do that."

Tense silence fell upon the group as Adam finished talking. The minutes ticked by as they waited to see what Stella was going to do.

"Mom…" Reed began. Stella's eyes flicked onto Reed's.

"Stella." Mrs. Taylor said quietly, interrupting Reed and drawing Stella's attention to her. The two women stared at each other for the longest time. Finally, almost reluctantly Stella lowered her gun. Adam let out the breath he was holding, released his grip on Stella's hand and took a few steps back.

"Sorry Adam, don't know what came over me." Stella mumbled.

"No worries Stella. You just turned into Mac." Adam said with a strained chuckle.

"_Okay_." Flack spoke up for the first time. "Now that that's done, can we move on to the case at hand? Mac's dying here."

"I still stand by barging in unannounced. We have the element of surprise." Stella stood by her first decision.

"That is out of the question. Adam is right. If we blindly barge in there now then it's highly possible that we'll end up dead." Don continued.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Call Davis and blow the entire operation by having them come squealing in their police cars? That will definitely lead to a hostage situation."

"Call Messer and have him call the landline next door. First we make sure if someone is home. If no one picks up and we don't see any movements caused by this call then we can chance barging in. If someone does answer or if we see some sort of movement then we can at least confirm that someone is in there and can proceed strategizing a plan to rescue Mac." Sinclair corrected.

* * *

Haylen looked up from the computer screen when she noticed Danny wheeling towards her.

"Haylen?"

"Yes, Detective Messer?"

"Danny." Danny corrected. "And I have a job for you. I've just got a call form Sinclair saying that they have a possible location as to where Mac and Jacobson are located. I want you to be the one who calls the landline. I would do so myself or have anyone else do it, but on the off chance that he's done extensive research on the members of the NYPD, he might recognize the caller's voice and know that we're on to him. You're pretty new, heck your papers haven't even been officially filed yet and since you've talked to Mac before…"

"Give me the number." Haylen interrupted. "Anything specific you'll like me to say?"

* * *

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Mac nearly fell out of his chair from the sudden noise caused by a distant telephone. He had been isolated for so long, been kept in silence for so long that even the faintest noise caused his body to tense.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Then he heard a faint voice giving the generic answering machine message followed by a beep.

"Good afternoon Mr. Brian T. Jacobson. This is a courtesy call from Bank of America. As a valued long time customer of Bank of America, we would like to inform you of our exclusive _freedom_ offer. As part of our promotion, you will be receiving a _Mac_ book as a complementary gift. The promotion expires _soon_ so we hope that you will take advantage of this offer."

The phone call ended but it had been enough to cause new hope to soar into Mac's heart.

_That was Haylen. She knows you're here. They know you're here. _The second voice in Mac's was dancing with joy. _It's only a matter of time before they come and rescue you._

He chuckled to himself as he thought of the encrypted message that had been meant for him.

_I've upgraded from Big Mac to a Mac book. Stella's going to be so proud of me._

* * *

Unbeknownst to Mac, as his own hopes soared, the hopes of his next door neighbors fell.

"Nothing." Stella said glumly. The group had been observing the house carefully but had spotted no signs of movement. They were once again gathered around the coffee table. "Can we take the chance to barge in now?"

"Stella…"

"Perhaps we don't have to barge in." Reed interrupted. "Isn't that him coming around the street corner with a bag of groceries…"

"What?" The group asked, all heads turning towards the window that Reed was staring out of.

"Such nerves…" Stella let out a string of ethnic curses as she couldn't formulate the correct expression in English. Once again she was on her feet. "We bring him into our custody now and then go in and search the house." She paused, turning to the Chief for the okay signal.

"Can't talk you out of this can I?"

"No, sorry…"

"Fine. Reed and Mrs. Taylor, shall stay here." Sinclair ordered. Only when he got two nods did he continue. "Alright, everyone, move out. Remember to wait for my signal."

* * *

Jacobson was quite proud of himself. Despite his Matrix being confiscated by the police and perhaps increase surveillance, he had made it to the supermarket and was able to purchase an assortment of knives without being recognized. The only minor incident that had occurred was the clerk making a comment about him liking his job as a professional butcher or not. He had politely replied that he loved his job, discretely leaving out the part that what the butchered, sliced and skinned was human. A sickening smile formed on his lips as he remembered his guest who was waiting to be entertained. Quickening his pace, he hurried home, not realizing that the people lingering on the street near his home were plain clothes officers waiting for him until it was too late.

"NYPD FREEZE!" Sinclair screamed, stepping into Jacobson's path with his gun pointing straight ahead. Flack was two steps behind the Chief, doing the same thing. Adam and Stella were standing behind Jacobson with their guns pointed steadily at their target. "Put the bag on the ground and keep your hands clasped behind your head."

"_NYPD_?" Jacobson said calmly though inside he was not. He mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down because of his success at the grocery store. "Isn't this out of your jurisdiction boys?" He taunted, trying to buy himself some time.

"Bag on the floor and hands behind your head!" Sinclair repeated. "You've got two seconds before I blow your brains out."

"As I said before, isn't this out of your jurisdiction boys?" Jacobson repeated. "You've got no power here boys."

"I wouldn't count on that." A female voice interrupted. "I'll listen to him if I was you Jacobson."

Jacobson took a quick chance to glance to the side and noticed a whole bunch of Chicago PD officers with guns surrounding him. He could have sworn they had popped out of thin air.

"Two seconds Jacobson." Sinclair said impatiently though his hold on his weapon remained steady.

Jacobson dropped the bag and slowly clasped his hands behind his head. Not a minute later and Adam had Jacobson in handcuffs. He looked up at Sinclair for directions.

"We'll take him back to the station." Detective Davis interrupted. She picked up the bag that Jacobson had dropped.

"He's ours." Sinclair protested.

"Out of your jurisdiction." Davis replied.

"Forget jurisdiction. This is our guy…"

"Your guy still needs to be rescued." Davis interrupted. "So why don't you go rescue him and…"

"Fine, but we'll be back for Jacobson." Sinclair conceded, knowing that it was more important to save Mac first. Davis didn't respond to that. She merely ordered her officers to take Jacobson and the bag back to the police station. Just as Davis was about to get into her own car, Adam called after her.

"Aren't you going to apologize for listening in on our phone call?"

"Aren't you going to thank my team and I for showing up?"

"We had it under control."

"Out of your jurisdiction, you have no power here." Davis reminded him.

"Will you too stop it?" Flack interrupted. "We still have to save Mac."

"Thought Stella was doing that. I saw her go inside."

Flack rolled his eyes. He left Adam to deal with Davis and headed after Stella, Sinclair having wisely slipped away into the Taylor's house to prepare a suitable area for Mac to temporary stay in.

* * *

"_NYPD FREEZE!"_ Mac Taylor had never felt such happiness sweep over him when he heard Sinclair's screaming voice. He sat back in his chair and waited for his team to come for him, trying his best to hear the commotion. He heard nothing but that didn't matter because he knew they were there. Glancing at the clock he watched the minutes tick by as he waited impatiently to be rescued.

"MAC!"

"STELLA! STELLA! STELLA!" Mac screamed back, despite knowing that nobody would be able to hear him. He had tried screaming the first time he had regained consciousness and screamed till his throat was soar but no one had come to rescue him.

_But this is Stella. You have to try. She's so close. You have to let her know that you're here. You just have to._

"Mac!"

And then a second voice could be heard.

"He's not here Stella." Flack said. "We've scoped the whole place. Mac's not here."

"STELLA! FLACK!" Mac cried out. Flack's voice had been so close, it was as though he was standing just above him.

"He's here Don. He's got to be." Stella said. "I know it."

"You know it?" Flack asked.

"I know it. I know that he's here. Mac's here. I don't know how to explain it, but I know he's here."

"We've check everywhere Stella. He's not here."

"STELLA! DON!" Mac cried out desperately. He could hear them clearly but apparently they couldn't hear him. "I'M HERE! I'M RIGHT BELOW YOU!"

"Find him?" This time it was Adam's voice that Mac could here.

"Nothing yet." Flack replied.

"Did you check the cellar?" Adam asked.

"What cellar?" Stella and Flack asked in unison.

"I didn't see any doors leading downstairs, did you Don?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well it wouldn't be obvious because its suppose to be a secret." Adam tried to explain. "I've seen houses with similar layouts like this and they usually have a hidden room somewhere. I believe it was used as part of the underground railway."

"And what makes this layout special?" Flack asked.

Mac could hear someone pound the ground above his head.

"Hear that?" Adam asked. "It's hallow."

"STELLA, ADAM, DON!" Mac shouted again, imagining that if Adam was right about the hallow thing and the three of them had their ears pressed to the ground, then surely they would have heard him. To his disappointment he could hear nothing that indicated to him that his team had heard him.

"I don't hear any difference." Don commented.

"I'm serious!" Adam protested. "I'm sure if you ransacked this place you'll hit some sort of trigger and another room of some sort will appear."

"Adam." Stella said. "I don't have time for this. I need to find Mac."

"Then start moving everything. The more hands I have the faster this will be."

"Adam…"

"Stella, trust me."

"Well we do have Jacobson in custody. He's not going anywhere. I say we can try Adam's idea and if it doesn't work, we can go an interrogate him." Don said. "I'll give it an hour at the most."

"Fine." Stella replied.

Mac could hear upstairs being torn down. He really hoped Adam's theory was correct as he was somewhere in the house and he didn't want his team to leave the place without finding him. Suddenly, a loud noise came from his right and he turned his attention to the sound. However he had to look away immediately as the light that came flooding into the room was too much to bear.

"SO WHAT WAS IT?" Mac screamed loudly, knowing that this time his team would definitely be able to hear him. He could hear hurried footsteps and then three people came rushing towards him.

"Mac!" Stella was the first to squeal her happiness as she flung her body onto him.

"Owe Stell, be gentle."

"Quiet you." Stella said, still not letting go.

"But you're hurting me." Mac protested. "As much as I love to hug you, every single damn part of my body aches like hell. And unless you want to reopen those wounds then…"

Stella reluctantly let her partner go. She stood up, took a step back and then evaluated Mac's body that was covered in blood and dirt.

"Oh Mac…" Stella said, wanting to hug him again but knowing that he was right. When she didn't say anything else, Mac turned to look at Adam and Don, giving them both a nod of thanks.

"So, what was it?" he asked looking at Adam.

"What was what?"

"The thing that opened the secret door…"

"Wait, you could hear us?" Don cut in.

"Loud and clear. So…"

"Mr. Coffee." Adam said.

Mac blinked and then started laughing. The laughter stop when pain ripped through his chest and a few of the recent cuts reopened.

"Uh, I think we should get him to the hospital first." Adam said. "This operation will be completely pointless if the boss dies from laughter."

"It's Saturday Adam. He's not going to the ER. He's not covered here and I'm not paying for it." Stella said.

"Ouch. You got a tough cookie there, boss." Don said with a smirk.

"Tell me about it." Mac grumbled. "I've been kidnapped and tortured for who knows how long and when I'm rescued, I'm not even going to be taken to the emergency room. Heck, she wouldn't even free me from these shackles."

"Well technically you aren't in an emergency, boss." Adam said slowly. "So there is no point in going to the emergency room."

Mac glared at Adam.

"I'm sure Stella's just dying to play nurse." Adam continued, ignoring the glare. Mac turned his attention onto Stella. He felt himself go red when he noticed a slight blush creeping onto Stella's face.

"_Okay _Adam. I know you've been trying to get on daddy's good side since the beginning of this whole fiasco, but this is just pushing in." Don commented, trying to keep a straight face.

"Boys!" Stella scolded. "Not another word."

Both Don and Adam made a face as they pretended to zip their mouths.

"Hate to interrupt but I am bleeding here." Mac said half heartily, knowing that the reopened wounds weren't going to kill him any time soon. "So Stella please release me and at least attempt to patch me up since I'm apararently not going to go to the ER, even though even I know that that is probably the best place for me to be right now."

"Are you going to run?" Stella countered.

"What?" Mac asked, having been caught off guard.

"Are you going to run?" Stella asked seriously as she caught Mac's eyes and held it in her gaze. It took him only a second to understand why she was asking him that question.

"Only into your arms." Mac replied, quickly hushing the specters who had let out a round of awes. "No Stella, I will not be fleeing. Trust me."

"I do trust you Mac. I just don't trust your current state of mind. You've been going hot and cold on me Mac and I just can't have that."

"I'm sorry Stella. I don't know how to apologize for everything I've done. What I've done was utterly inexcusable and I can promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again…"

"How long did you spend coming up with that speech and how long did you spend rehearsing it?"

"Stella I mean…"

Stella held up a hand to quiet him. The torment reflected in his eyes was enough to tell her that he truly meant every word.

"Save it Mac. I know what you mean and I know you mean everything that you said. Don't hurt yourself trying to explain it. We hold mental conversations remember, or has this incident turned your brain into mush?"

"_You _turned my brain into mush."

Two coughs came from their specters, reminding them that they weren't alone.

"So uh Stella can you please let me go now. I promise I won't run."

"Not till I had my way with you."

"What?"

Stella didn't answer Mac's question. Instead she turned to Don and Adam.

"Help me carry him next door."

"The chair?" Adam asked.

"Seeing that it's attached to Mac, I believe you'll have to take it with you."

"You've got to be kidding me." Mac said as Adam and Don each took a side of his chair and heaved him and the chair up. "As your boss I order you to let me down and release me."

"Sorry Mac, you resigned remember? I'm their boss now." Stella said with a smirk taking the lead to step outside first.

"Oh my God." Mac said the moment they stepped outside. "I'm in…we're in…oh my God…" He repeated, recognizing the surroundings but couldn't quite put a name to it.

"Chicago? Funny how fate works. By air or by car, you were destined to be home at this particular time and day." Stella said.

"Destined, Fate?" Mac echoed.

"When something happens and another thing interrupts it but that thing happens anyway even though you know that interruption wouldn't have allowed it to happen." Stella answered. "There's probably a reason why you're here discounting the kidnapping of course. I mean you did book that flight ticket and…"

"Stella," Mac interrupted. "I think I know the reason." He said, spotting his mother, Reed and Sinclair through the window of his childhood home.

"Why?"

"Stella, it's time for you to properly meet your future mother-in-law."

* * *

Finally Mac gets rescued. It actually went quite smoothly without too much incident. As always remember to **Review**!


	9. Minor Changes In Normality

**The Call That Changed Everything**

**Written by:** HoshiHikari

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI NY

**Summary:** The team was devastated after the loss of Jessica. When Danny ended up in a wheelchair, the team became even more depressed. The night Stella failed to return Mac's call caused a rift to form between them, a rift that might not only destroy their friendship, but might also be the very thing that destroys the team forever.

**Warnings:** Spoilers from Season 6!

**Chapter 9 Minor changes in normality**

"What in the world is going on?" Reed asks as he watched Stella step through the door to the Taylor home and then held it open for Adam and Don to step through.

"For a man who is known to have nothing in the fridge, you sure weigh a gazillion pounds Boss." Adam complained as he wiped the sweat from his forehead after he and Don had placed down Mac in the center on the room.

"Are you sure you're not just out of shape Ross? Come on we better get you to the gym." Don said preventing anyone, mainly Mac and Stella from making a response to Adam's comment.

"The two of you can hit the gym tomorrow on your day off." Sinclair said just as Don and Adam were about to disappear from the front door. "Right now we better retrieve Jacobson and wrap up this case. If we're lucky we can catch the last flight back to New York."

"Sweet. Thanks Chief." Adam said. "Let's get going then."

Adam and Don bid farewell to Mrs. Taylor, Reed, Mac and Stella before stepping outside to wait for Sinclair.

"Bonasera, you are on 2 weeks paid vacation starting now." Sinclair said. "and you Taylor are going back to work Monday morning."

"What?" Mac spoke up surprised. "I resigned."

"I never received your resignation letter."

"My badge and gun…"

"I did not receive your resignation letter Taylor and until then you are still part of the NYPD. Now unless you can produce one out of thin air and hand it to me at this very instant, then you will remain a detective of the NYPD. Besides with the whole stunt you've pulled which left your partner having to pick up the pieces, its only right that you do the same for her while she takes some time off to relax. "

"I was kidnapped. I wasn't lazing around."

"Look into my eyes and tell me you had no intention of disappearing off the face of the planet, even before you were kidnapped." Sinclair challenged. Mac's mouth fell open. He didn't know how to respond. Sinclair took the chance to speak again, this time addressing Mrs. Taylor.

"Thank you for your kind hospitality Mrs. Taylor."

"You're always welcome here." Mrs. Taylor replied kindly. "I know McCanna can be difficult at times, but please take care of him for me."

"With all due respect Mrs. Taylor, I think you're asking the wrong person." Sinclair said, his eyes shifting to Stella. "But I'll do what I can."

"Thank your Chief." Mrs. Taylor said.

With a final nod Sinclair stepped out of the Taylor's house, only to stop on the front step when Mac called back to him.

"What time?" Mac asked.

"What?" Sinclair asked, confused.

"What time do I have to show up Monday morning?"

"The same time you come to work every morning."

"Even at an insane hour?" Mac countered. "Because I'm…"

"There is no insane hour for you Taylor because we all know that you live at your office. The real question is when should I drop by and expect you to not be at a crime scene or engrossed in some case file."

"You're so confident that I won't be dropping off my resignation letter and then leave for good."

"That's right. I'm as confident with that as I am confident that come Monday there will be two Taylors working in the same department." And with that Sinclair left the Taylor's house, closing the door firmly behind him.

Silence passed as Sinclair's final words sunk in.

"Have you ever been to Chicago Reed?" Mrs. Taylor asked turning to Reed.

"No."

"If you don't mind an old woman's company, I can show you around." She continued.

"I'll love that." Reed said, leaping to his feet and headed to the door.

"Mom…" Mac protested, suddenly realizing that if his mom and Reed left, it would only be him and Stella left in the house.

"We'll talk later McCanna" Mrs. Taylor said, walking to Mac and then giving him a kiss on his cheek. She then lowered her voice so that only Mac could hear. "You and Stella need to work whatever you need to work out before you two head back to New York."

"But…"

"Trust me McCanna."She interrupted in her soft voice with a knowing smile. "Don't wait up for Reed and I either. We'll check in at a hotel…"

"But.." Mac protested again.

"Only for tonight. Don't worry, we'll be back early tomorrow morning. I want all the details then." Again she gave a kiss on her son's cheek. Straightening up, Mrs. Taylor gave Reed a nod and then headed for the door.

"Thank you, Mrs. Taylor." Stella said softly as Mrs. Taylor walked passed, understanding the real reason that she wanted to take Reed sightseeing.

"Mom" Mrs. Taylor corrected loud enough for everyone to hear. "Thank you mom."

And with that she stepped out of her house. Reed walked out after her and then poked his head back in.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Mom, now that dad's rescued, I just wanted to remind you that discussions are for family bonding time only and family includes grandma and I. So if you leave us out, I swear I'll kill you." Reed said with a shy smile. "Having said that, I'm sure you and dad will be able to come up with some activities to pass the time." Before Mac and Stella could respond, Reed pulled his head back and let the door close firmly behind him.

* * *

"Messer." Danny picked up his phone on the first ring.

"Mac's been rescued." Don replied. "We're bringing Jacobson back to New York tonight. We'll have him booked and hopefully get this case closed no later then tomorrow morning."

"How is Mac?" Danny asked with concerned.

"Alive, functional and still sane. I'm sure he had worst and I'm sure he had better days."

"That bad eh?"

"The TV recording doesn't even come close." Flack agreed. "Anyone else I'm sure would have been dead."

"So how long is he staying at the hospital? I know Stella's going to stay beside him 24/7, but when you guys do return, do you think Sinclair's going to allow the rest of the team to fly out to visit him?"

"I'm sure Sinclair would, but…"

"But what?"

"Mac's not in the hospital."

"What?"

"Stella's refused to allow him proper medical treatment. He's not going to the ER because he's not covered here and she's not going to be paying for it."

"Ouch." Danny winced. "But you said he looked worst in real life then on TV."

"Yeah." Flack said. "But nurse Stella is confident that her patient Mac will not die as a result of not being treated in the ER."

"Nurse Stella better know what she's doing."

"Well if Mac doesn't show up to work Monday morning, then…"

"Wait, Mac is working on Monday? That's only 2 days away."

"Sinclair's order. Don't ask me how the chief did it, but Mac's agreed to show up Monday. I think the chief just wants to make sure Mac returns and stays on the police force."

"I hope Mac stays."

"I know he will, Danny." Flack replied. "I know because I saw Stella when we first found Mac. Her eyes said it all. She's not going to let him walk out of her life ever again."

* * *

"Get it over with Stella" Mac said once he had gotten his blush under control.

"Get what over with Mac?"Stella asked innocently, walking up to him and then standing just out of arm's reach.

"Whatever it is that you want to talk about? I mean I am stuck in this chair and it's not like I can just get up and storm out if you say something that I don't want to hear, which I'm sure is what you are going to do. So just yell and scream at me for everything's that's gone on and get it over with."

Stella ignored that last part of Mac's words. Instead when she spoke, she spoke quite calmly.

"So you're saying that if you weren't stuck in that chair that you would have left already? If that is your intention, then I suppose we've got a problem. You see Mac, I'm not letting you go." She leaned forward and then continued with a whisper in his ear. "Ever."

Before he could react she had already pulled back and had once again stepped just out of his reach.

"Stella…"

"I mean it Mac." She said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You're staying like that until I can convince you otherwise. I'll do whatever it takes, use whatever means necessary to make you see that…"

"We belong together." Mac finished. "I know Stella. I…"

"Mac?" Stella asked caught by surprised.

"Come here Stella."

"Mac?"

"Come here Stell."

Slowly Stella stepped closer so that now their knees were bumping into each other.

"Sit down on my lap."

"Mac?"

"Please Stella, I just want to be eye level with you."

"Only that?" Stella asked, doing as she was told. "No ulterior motives?"

"Of course there is." Mac replied. "But before I go any further, I must ask you Stella if you are sure that this is what you want?"

"Is this what you want Mac?" Stella countered.

"Very much so. Marry me Stella." Mac leaned forward and planted a soft yet firm kiss on Stella's lips, using his actions to convey all the emotions in his body that couldn't be described by words alone. However his hopes came crushing down around him when Stella immediately twisted her head away.

"Stella?" Mac asked weakly, suddenly tormented by the fact that Stella had rejected the kiss and thereby rejected his proposal. "Stella."

"Tickles." Stella said offering a bright smile, trying to reassure Mac that she hadn't rejected him.

"What?"

"Your stubble tickles." Stella said. She had barely finished her statement when Mac leaned forward and crushed her lips with his own. This time Stella allowed herself to drown in the kiss, pouring out her heart into that single moment.

"Wow Mac, that was amazing." Stella said after regaining her breath from the kiss.

"You're amazing Stella." Mac replied. He too was out of breath. "So, I take that as a yes?"

"Well according to your mom, the chief, Reed and the rest of the team then I suppose so."

"I don't care about them. I want to know if you will marry me."

"Will you come back to the NYPD?"

"I'll do anything you ask me to."

"Will you let me take care of you?"

"Don't you do that already?"

"Good point. Will you let me have my way with you?"

"Um.. Stella, you're having your way with me right now."

"True, I'll marry you on one condition."

"What is it?" Mac asked anxiously.

Stella got off of Mac and stepped back again.

"Stella?"

"When I release you from this chair, you're going to march into the bathroom and take a shower. Then I'm going to help you bandage up your wounds and then we're going to sleep. And I mean sleep. No sex tonight."

"But Stella…"

"The faster you heal the more fun we can have afterwards." She winked at him.

"I can handle…"

"Mac, it's that or nothing." Stella said seriously.

"Fine." Mac huffed. "You win."

"Don't I always?"

"Every time." Mac admitted. "Now come over here Mrs. Taylor and seal that promise with a kiss."

"Sorry Mr. Taylor. No more kisses till you get rid of that stubble."

* * *

Mrs. Taylor and Reed were enjoying their dinner at a diner when Reed's phone rang.

"Hello?" Reed answered.

"Reed?"

"Yes."

"Hi, it's Adam Ross."

"Oh hi Adam, what's up? Something wrong?"

"No. It was a hassle but we finally got Jacobson back in our custody. We're catching the last flight back to New York . The chief's wondering if you'll like to fly back with us or if you'll like to hang around Chicago a little longer and return to New York with Mac and Stella."

"I'll wait for mom and dad." Reed said. "I want to stick around when they do tie the knot. I don't know if it'll happen here in Chicago, but if it does, I don't want to miss it."

"I understand." Adam said. "Very well, take care of yourself Reed. Let us know when you guys get back so that we can send someone to pick you up. No more taxi rides."

"Right, no more taxi rides." Reed agreed.

"and if Mac and Stella do end up getting married in Chicago, then do tell them congratulations from the team. We're sorry that we missed it." Adam paused. 'Tell Mac and Stella that I in particular want to congratulate them and that despite everything that happened, I'm happy that they're finally together, happy together."

"Well Adam, that's a whole mouthful. Why don't you tell mom and dad yourself? I think you'll all benefit if you tell them directly."

"I suppose so."

"I know so."

* * *

  
"Ouch." Mac hissed as Stella applied slight pressure on his chest while she tried to wrap clean bandages around his wounds. "Gentle Stella."

"Oh stop whining Mac. After the pain that Jacobson caused and the pain that hot water running water causes on open wounds, I highly doubt that my touch will make things worst."

"It still hurts."

"And here you wanted to have sex tonight Detective."

"I still do." Mac reached out and pulled Stella into a tight embrace, his clean shaven lips once more connecting with hers.

"Can we Stella, please?" Mac asked once the kiss ended.

"Not interested in a one night stand." Stella said softly.

"But it won't be. We're getting married…"

"on the condition that we don't have sex tonight." Stella reminded him. "You break another promise and it is over McCanna."

"Tomorrow night then?" Mac asked with hope shining in his eyes.

"We'll see. I suppose you do have a lot to make up to me and since we're back to work on Monday…"

"I'm back to work on Monday, you're on vacation." Mac corrected her.

"Oh please Mac, do you really think you can get anything done looking like that? You're still in the process of healing. I'm not going to let anything jeopardize that. Another injury and then.."

"I can take care of myself on the field. You deserve your rest."

Stella looked like she was going to argue but Mac cut her off.

"Besides I've got Nurse Stella taking care of me. One more injury can't do that much damage."

Stella playfully smacked Mac's head for that comment.

"You do know that as much as I love to play nurse, I'm a detective at heart. I'm not changing occupations just because we're getting married."

"You don't have to. Sinclair's got our back, the team's got our back. Mom and Reed's got our backs. I don't care about what anyone else in the world thinks. Besides I'll be pretty angry if you go around playing nurse to others."

"Only pretty angry?"

"Furious"

"Jealous much?"

"Possessive." Mac corrected. "I don't like to share."

"Neither do I."

Comfortable silence fell between them as Stella continued to wrap the bandages around Mac's chest. Once in a while Mac would fidget under the pain that the pressure on the wounds caused.

"Stop moving Mac or else."

"Or else what? Going to tie me up to keep me still?"

"As tempting as that sounds, one things going to lead to the next and…"

"That's the point." Mac interrupted.

"Promise Mac. We're not breaking the promise." Stella reminded him again. "Now hold still. This next one's a really nasty cut, if those hurt, I'm sure this one will be worst."

* * *

As Mrs. Taylor promised the night before, she and Reed returned home early the next morning only to find Mac sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. In front of him was a large cup of coffee. Stella was at the stove frying eggs and ham.

"Well, this is a nice sight to come home to." Mrs. Taylor commented, lingering at the doorway.

"Good morning mom, Reed." Mac said, placing down the paper and gesturing to the empty seats at the table. "Do join us for breakfast."

Mrs. Taylor made her way around the table to linger behind Mac's chair. She bent down and kissed his cheek.

"With that smile plastered on your face McCanna, I assume that everything went well last night? Perhaps a little more then well?" Mrs. Taylor whispered.

"Mom! Nothing happened." Mac corrected hastily, a little louder then intended.

"Ah, details my boy. You know I'll get it from Stella later anyway."

"Mom!"

"McCanna…"

"We slept peacefully together the whole night through. I haven't done that in so long that…"

"Slept together?"

"No Mom!"

"But you just said…"

"Sleep, mom, we just slept. We didn't sleep together, we slept…."

"Now that makes absolutely no sense McCanna. How does tense…"

"Mom, you know exactly what I mean."

For a minute Mrs. Taylor did not reply.

"Of course I do son. Don't have to get all riled up about it. Just enjoy seeing you flustered." Mrs. Taylor stood up straight offered her son a wink and then strode over to Stella, giving her a warm hug.

"Good morning Stella, I hope you had a nice night."

"Very much Mrs. Taylor."

"Mom." Mrs. Taylor corrected absent mindedly. "Enjoyed sleeping?"

Stella having heard the not so discrete conversation that had occurred between Mac and his mom, gave a smirk and then gave her answer while looking at Mac.

"Very much so. I wouldn't mind doing that again."

"Stella!" Mac scolded, sounding and looking horrified.

"Yes Mac?" Stella asked faking a look of innocence. When the horrific look on Mac's face didn't go away, Stella decided to continue speaking. "Oh come on Mac, you have to admit that aside from insomniacs, sleeping is a very enjoyable event."

"Very much so." Reed chimed in, apparently also enjoying the flustered look on Mac's face.

"Reed! Stay out of it." Mac complained. "Or else…"

"Or else what?" All three of them said in unison causing a burst of laugher to follow directly afterwards. Mac shook his head and shrugs his shoulders as he let out a defeated sigh.

"I don't think I'll live much longer if the three of you keep ganging up on me."

"But its fun." Reed said.

"and it makes you smile McCanna." Mrs. Taylor said.

"But," Mac started to complain.

"Plus on the off chance that you're about to die because of them, then I get to come and rescue you. I think I like that very much." Stella added.

"Always?"

"Always." Stella replied, bringing over the ham and eggs and setting them on the plates that Reed had so kindly set up.

"So Reed, do you like Chicago?" Mac asked as the group dug into their breakfast.

"I don't know. It was pretty late yesterday so we didn't get to see anything."

"We can go out today." Stella said. "I've never been here either. Mac and _mom_ can be our personal tour guides."

"Great. Only thing is we're catching the 7 pm flight back to New York tonight." Reed said.

"Since when?" Stella asked.

"Since grandma here scheduled an early doctor appointment for dad tomorrow morning."

"Mom, I'm fine. Stella did a wonderful job." Mac protested. "Besides I have to be at work."

"I know she did. I just want to make sure nothing's wrong internally. Can't blame a mother for worrying about the well being of her son." Mrs. Taylor defended. "You can go to work afterwards."

"No I suppose not." Mac murmured.

"Well Sinclair never did give you a specific time to go in." Stella said. "You'll still be going to work even if you show up five minutes before your shift ends. He just wants to make sure you show up."

"Right." Mac agreed. "Well lets get going shall we. After all there are some wonderful places that Chicago has to offer."

* * *

The rest of Sunday past fairly quickly and before she knew it, Stella found herself back at work.

"Stella!" Lindsey squealed, the moment she stepped out of the elevator. She immediately latched her arm around Stella's and began to pull her away. This time Stella planted her foot stiffly on the floor and refused to be led away.

"Stella?" Lindsey asked with concern.

"Sorry, Lindsey, its just that the last time I stepped out of the elevator and you pulled me to my office was when…"

"Oh sorry Stella." Lindsey let go of Stella's hand. "But I'm so excited."

"More excited then showing me Mac's flower deliveries?"

"Maybe not that excited, but still very much so." Lindsey replied. "Come on, I've got something to show you."

"Okay Lindsey, I'm coming."

"Where is Mac anyway? I've got to show him this. And why are you here? I thought Sinclair gave you two weeks off."

"Mac's seeing the doctor to make sure that there weren't any internal injuries caused by Jacobson. He'll be here when he's done. Until then, I'm him, actually I'm him until he fully recovers."

"So he's you then?" Lindsey asked.

"I suppose so." Stella replied.

"Well come on Detective Taylor. I've got something to show you." Lindsey said bringing her towards Mac's office.

"Detective Taylor, I think I like the sound of that." Stella said. She stopped walking when they came to Mac's office, noticing that the binds were closed.

"Yo, Detective Taylor." Danny said, coming up to Lindsey and Stella at full speed with his wheelchair. "If you're done here, I've got a case for you." He waived a file in his hands. "Dead body in Bryant Park."

"Danny!" Lindsey scolded. "Are you ordering the boss around? You know you can get fired for that?"

"The Boss' wife." Danny corrected.

"Big difference." Lindsey said rolling her eyes.

"Both of you, behave!" Stella interrupted.

"Sorry Stella," Danny apologized.

"No worries Danny. I know you can get carried away some times. But you're right, a case is a case. I better head over there. Coming Lindsey?"

"Just take a quick peak at the office first." Lindsey pleaded. "The surprise is for you, not Mac. I doubt he'll notice anyway."

Stella reached out and opened the door to Mac's office, her hands immediately dropping from the door handle.

"Lindsey you didn't…"

"Heard that Mac's coming back and we all know how he loves his office. Knowing him he would have been too busy to place everything back and we all know how he prides himself with everything he displays…"

"But still Lindsey. You didn't have to. I was the one who tore everything down, you didn't have to put everything back in its exact place."

"No, I didn't, but I wanted to. It makes the fact that Mac's coming back much more real."

"Thank you Lindsey. You don't know how much I appreciate this. If there is anything I can do to return the favor then I'll do it."

"Make sure you invite me to your wedding."

"How do you know I'm not married already?" Stella countered.

"No ring." Lindsey stated as though it was the most obvious answer. She then turned serious, catching Stella's eyes with her own. "The two of you are still getting married right? I mean despite what had recently occurred…"

"Yes, he did make his proposal." Stella confirmed.

"and you say yes, right?"

"What do you think?" Stella asked.

"Details! Details!" Lindsey said as she squealed with joy. "I want those now."

"I hate to interrupt girls, but we do have a dead body…" Danny tried to interrupt.

"Hush Danny. You know you want to hear this as much as I do." Lindssy playfully swatted her husband.

Before Danny could say anything else, the chief's voice interrupted them.

"Tay—Bonasera! What in the world are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you around here for another 2 weeks." Sinclair marched up to them. "Where is Taylor? Don't tell me he sent you to…"

"He's in the hospital." Stella replied. "Just making sure he doesn't have any internal injuries that Jacobson might have caused. He'll be here after his appointment. Until then, actually until he properly heals, I'm going to be here."

"Just make sure you're actually working." Sinclair paused.

"Stella gestured at the case file that Danny had just brought to her.

"Dead body in Bryant Park. Lindsey and I were getting ready to head over there."

"Good." Sinclair said. "Get going."

"Of course chief." Stella replied. She nodded to Lindsey and the two headed towards the elevator.

"and oh Stella," Sinclair called after them. "Tell Mac to see me before he starts working. I've got his badge and gun. I don't want him getting into any more trouble."

* * *

"So Doctor, how am I?" Mac asked after his physical check up.

"From what I've heard about your story on TV Detective, I'm surprised that external wounds are the only things you've sustained from this whole ordeal."

"Are the cuts going to fade?" Mac asked anxiously, not really wanting any physical reminders of his ordeal with Jacobson.

"Only some. Some will disappear and some I'm afraid will leave scars."

"Great, more scars."

"I'm sure she'll still love you just as much as she always has."

"What?" Mac asked, surprised by the comment.

"Your wife, the one who so carefully and lovingly wrapped these bandages for you."

"How did you…"

"A women always leaves her mark." The doctor replied. "She must be an amazing women."

"Yes she is. She's perfect in every shape and form."

"I'm sure that's exactly how she thinks of you. A few more scars won't change her perception."

"No, I suppose not. Thanks Doctor."

* * *

Hours later, Stella and Lindsey finished up processing the crime scene at Bryant Park.

"How did it go?" Lindsey asked impatiently in the passenger seat as Stella drove back to the lab.

"How did what go?"

"With Mac! What else do you think I'm asking about?"

"Everything's back to normal." Stella shrugs.

"Back to normal?" Lindsey echoes. "But you're getting married! That…"

"Funny, I don't feel the difference. It feels the same as any other day."

"But…"

"Mac and I have been best friends for over a decade. Now that I look back on our friendship, I suppose its always been quite obvious that we've been acting like a married couple. That marriage license only makes it official, not more real then it was before."

"Ah, I suppose you're right." Lindsey said. "Do you think Danny and I will ever have that?"

"Have what?"

"What you and Mac share."

"You already do Lindsey. You've just got to work hard to keep it." Stella said as she parked the car in the parking lot. "You and Danny will be fine."

"Thanks Stella," Lindsey said. "Your words of encouragement meant so much to me."

"Anytime Lindsey."

Comfortable silence fell over them as they got onto the elevator.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did the two of you make up after the inevitable fight? Did you have hot sex directly afterwards?"

"What inevitable fight?" Stella asked, her face turning a shade of red.

"I'm sure after you rescued Mac, there must have been certain things that the two of you needed to discuss…"

"Like Adam or Mac's spontaneous irrational actions or…"

"Yeah, that stuff."

"Oh we didn't bring it up. It's in the past. There was no need to bring it up any longer. It wasn't important. I mean all that is important but it wasn't important, if you know what I mean."

"I think I do. It comes with the finishing off each other sentences and non verbal communication right?"

"Right."

"I really wish Danny and I could do that."

"One day Lindsey, one day you'll be able to do so and…" Stella was cut off when the elevator doors open and they were greeted by Adam.

"Stella, thank you!" Adam said happily, waiving a piece of paper in his hands.

"Whatever for?"

"Doing whatever you did to make Mac keep me on the team. I'm not on the one month probation any longer!" He squealed happily. "I would kiss you or take you out for dinner or something to thank you but I know the boss will probably misinterpret it and then fire me on the spot so…"

"Adam, I didn't do anything." Stella said, cutting the other man off. "You did save Mac's life and this is the least he could do to repay you."

"But still…"

"Adam, listen to me. You're…."

"HAS JACOBSON MUDDLED YOUR MIND TAYLOR?" Sinclair's sudden outburst caused everyone in the lab to freeze. "PROTOCOL MUST BE FOLLOWED. HOW COULD YOU BE SO DAMN STUPID AS TO TRY TO ATTEMPT TO ARREST GOLDSTIEN WITHOUT YOUR BADGE? WE'VE BEEN AFTER THIS GUY FOR MONTHS AND NOW THAT WE'VE FINALLY GOT A BREAK, YOU HAVE TO RUIN IT! DAMN IT TAYLOR! IF YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME THEN LISTEN TO STELLA. I TOLD HER…"

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING STELLA INTO THIS!" Mac's shouts matched Sinclair's.

Stella tuned out Sinclair's and Mac's shouts as she rushed towards Mac's office with Lindsey and Adam running after her.

"What's this about?" Stella demanded, seeing Flack and Danny and Hawkes all lingering by Mac's office, looking as though they wanted to enter but knew better then to do so.

"Daniel Goldstien's case."Danny said off handily. "The one that has been going on for months. We've finally got a break on it and Mac went to arrest him, but he forgot his badge and well things ended up pretty nasty and…"

"He's the one that has been suspected of killing off Marines?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah. I don't really blame Mac. The case hit home, plus Mac did need to vent and, well one thing led to the next and Goldstein's going to walk."

"For 14 slayings." Hawkes added. "Mac's really pissed."

Stella let out a long sigh and took a step closer to Mac's office door which had been shut. Neither of the men inside seemed to notice what was going on outside.

"Stella what are you doing?" Lindsey asked. "If you go in there now, you're just going to get killed in the crossfire."

"Don't worry Lindsey. I do this all the time. It's just another day at work." Stella flashed a smile at her friends. She took a deep breath and then opened the door to Mac's office, closing it quickly behind her. Even as she braced herself for what she knew was to come, Stella couldn't help the smile that was plastered on her face.

After all she knew that in time this argument would pass and it would fade to nothing and that in the long run the content would not matter. What did matter was that Adam's job was secured now. Mac was back to stay at the lab and in her life for good. The team had once again been tested and succeeded in pulling through for one another. The constancy of the arguments between Mac and Sinclair was living proof that despite hurdles, everything will turn out just fine. To Stella that in the end that was all that mattered especially since she knew that there will be times in the future where her and Mac's love for each other will be tested and when that time comes as long as she remembers that if Mac and Sinclair can survive ripping each other apart on a daily basis, she and Mac will surly be able to survive their marriage.

* * *

Complete! I want to thank everyone for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you!


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